


L’amore vale Sempre la pena

by Sinopa_Ariianna



Series: Love Is Always Worth It [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: AU/AT, Angst, Explicit Language, Get Together, M/M, OOC-ness, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2017-11-21 20:47:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 60,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/601916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinopa_Ariianna/pseuds/Sinopa_Ariianna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony saves Kelly; years later he meets her dad and falls in love with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is more AT because of the ages. I don’t own anything recognizable. NCIS belongs to DPB and CBS. Just playing around with their creations. I have Kelly being born in 96 instead of dying in 91 so be forewarned. Also I know very little when it comes to Medicine, racing and cars is my particular Forte. This is my first NCIS fic ever so please be nice? HUGE thanks go out to dragonheart25 for the beta and for keeping me on track and not letting me quit when I hit a roadblock. It was a long process to figure out the Timeline for this fic and work out any kinks that would later cause major plot holes and without dragonheart25 I wouldn’t have been able to do it nor would I have been able to name this fic and figure out a summary...Thank you so much!!!!

Prologue  
  
Philadelphia PA 1997  
  
As Tony pulled up to the crime scene with his partner he shrugged. He’d barely settled in at his new Precinct after his stint in Peoria and already he was being called to a Homicide Incited Vehicular Accident. Two Females. Thankfully no other passing motorists were injured or the fatalities could have been worse.  
  
Upon arriving at the scene Tony and his partner went to get the full details of what happened. After almost a half hour of taking witness statements they had learned that witnesses had seen the woman driving sedately and then the window was shattered and she was careening off of the road and into a nearby tree. The front end of the car was smashed. There would be no repairing this vehicle. The car was a twisted piece of wreckage and EMT’S had just barely managed to get the Female Driver’s body out. Other witnesses had said they saw a man with a gun flee the scene and gave some very sketchy descriptions.  
  
Moving on to the next witness Tony was glad in a morbid sort of way to be called away by the EMT’s. None of the EMT’s or Officers were Flexible enough nor lean enough to crawl into the wreckage and retrieve the child that was still strapped into the carrier and the seat. Striding over Tony made some jokes about them being lucky he used to play Basketball. Upon crawling into the wreckage he managed to get right up to the seat the child was strapped into, with some creative twisting on his part.  
  
Hitting the seatbelt release he gently pulled the carrier away from the seat. Pausing he thought he’d heard a soft whimper. No the EMT’s had pronounced both Mother and Child Dead upon their arrival to the scene. Managing to contort his body back into something resembling normalcy he paused. There it was again a soft, barely audible whimpering. It sounded like it was coming from the Child seat he had in his arms. Moving into a position where he could check the baby for a pulse, even though she was dead, he got the shock of his life when he felt the barely there and erratic pulse of the child’s heartbeat. Scrambling around and out of the wreckage he started undoing the belts holding her as he went all the while yelling at the Emergency workers.  
  
“Get a Goddamn Oxygen tank ready, cause the baby girl is still alive if barely! You stupid idiotic fuckwads! You jackoff’s need to learn how to check for a fucking pulse! What did you do just assume that the baby was dead because the mother was?!?!?” Tony ranted at the emergency worker that had declared the child Dead.  
  
“Now see here detective. I followed pro…” the EMT said before being cut off.  
  
The Hell You DID!!!You Dumbasses should have fucking asked someone to crawl in to properly check the little girl’s pulse if you couldn’t fucking reach her!!!”  
  
I am calling my supervisor detective.”  
  
“Good call your supervisor! I’ll tell you right now that it will be on YOUR head if this little girl dies because you didn’t fucking check her pulse properly!!!” Tony stated as he crawled into the ambulance after the EMT’s that were treating the child. “Yo Jimmy! Gonna ride along to the hospital. Keep me updated will ya?” Tony yelled just as the Emergency Medical Staff was closing the ambulance doors.  
  
Upon arriving at the Ambulance Bay and being hurried into the ER Tony was asked to step aside and wait in the waiting room by the doctor.  
  
“No. I am staying with her.”  
  
“Sir. I cannot allow a non-family member to be in the treatment room with a child.” The doctor said.  
  
“One it’s _**DETECTIVE**_ Tony DiNozzo. Two her mother was just fucking **MURDERED** and as far as we know this child has no father that is in the picture. Three the bastard the killed her mother is out there somewhere and I damn well ain’t going to let him get in and kill her. Four she almost fucking **_DIED_** because some idiotic EMT didn’t properly check her fucking pulse and it was almost an _**HOUR**_ before they asked me to go in and retrieve what I was told was her lifeless body! Now, you can either do your fucking job and treat her **OR** I will have another doctor assigned to do it.”  
  
“Understood Detective.” The doctor said before walking away and telling the nurses to assign Dr. Kamiya to the case because he refuses to violate protocol no matter the circumstances.  
  
As Tony sat on the edge of the bed looking down at this beautiful child that had just lost her mother his normally bright and lively eyes dulled a bit that this child should have such a tragedy happen to her. Suddenly a nurse was asking for him stating he had a Detective Walker calling on line 3. He took the phone by the bed and spoke to his partner Jimmy. Learning that this child was only one and her name was Kelly Gibbs. Thanking Jimmy he said to call if anything else came up and to tell the chief that Tony would be at the hospital with Kelly.  
  
“So Little one. Your name is Kelly. Such a beautiful name for such a pretty little girl. Hopefully we can find your Daddy soon.” Tony murmured to the little girl whose hand he held softly in his own.  
  
“Ahem… Detective DiNozzo?”  
  “Yes.”  
“My name is Dr. Kamiya. I’ll be treating… you said she was a Jane Doe?”  
“Kelly. Her name’s Kelly.”  
“Okay I’ll be treating Kelly. Now can you tell me what happened so I know all of the pertinent facts?” The doctor asked kindly. As Tony explained what he knew of what had happened and how the vehicle was a twisted wreck and he’d had to contort to get her down from the seats and then out of her carrier upon realizing she was alive.  
  
“She was probably tossed around a lot doc. If her getting tossed around is anything like getting tossed around in a stock car after hitting the wall at 500+ mph then flipping and rolling halfway across the infield then she probably has bruised ribs if not cracked or broken ones. That I do know.” Tony finished rubbing lightly at his chest as if in remembrance.  
  
“I take it you’ve experience something similar?” The doctor questions while taking Kelly’s Blood Pressure checking her pulse and listening to her lungs and heart.  
  
“Mmmhmm. When I was a kid my Aunt used to take me out to the track that was near where she lived. She knew the owners so she managed to get me into a full size stock car first as a passenger then into one once I was old enough as a driver. There was some fundraising event and the sponsors wanted a race or two. So the drivers including me hopped into our cars and got ready to race. The first race I did fine.  Placed in the top 5; the second one…not so much. Someone tapped my rear bumper right as I went into a turn…barely managed to keep it off the wall. Then the same idiot did it again.  Only this time I wasn’t able to keep it off the wall. Slammed into the wall which bounced me back out got slammed in the river side by another driver and ended up flipping and rolling across the infield. I had several cracked and broken ribs, bruising galore, a major headache and a twisted ankle…though that happened crawling out of the wreckage. Damn near gave my Aunt a heart attack though.”  
  
The doctor smiled at Tony. “Nervous?” he asked.  
“Yeah a bit. More anxious anxiety. Wanna make sure she’s gonna be okay so that when we find her father or other family they can be assured of her condition.” Tony replied smiling slightly at the doctor.  
  
“Well. We need to get her into X-ray and get a good look at those ribs and make sure there is nothing else wrong internally.” Turning to the nurse he said “I want blood work and an IV in her stat. I want to get fluids into her and make sure nothing else is wrong. Set a catheter up as well. Get her set up to have an X-ray and MRI.” Turning back to Tony “If she awakens page a nurse or if there is any change in her breathing. We’ll have her transferred up to NICU as soon as possible. They are more equipped to deal with infants and young children than we are here in the ER.”  
  
“Thanks Dr.Kamiya.”  
  
A few hours later Tony sighed as he watched Kelly sleep. She did indeed have some minor fracturing of three of her ribs and plenty of bruising. Also because of the position she was in and the hindered breathing she had slight oxygen depravation. Thankfully there was no internal bleeding.  
  
Once Kelly had been transferred and settled into the Children’s ICU ward Tony had called his Chief who had said to stay with the child. So Tony did. He sat on the edge of Kelly’s bed holding her hand and murmuring encouragements. Hopefully they would be able to find her father or some other family.  
  
For the next two weeks the nurses were treated to the same visitor. Tony would come by after work and sit with Kelly and talk to her and read to her. Once evening fell and Kelly was asleep he would sit with her until visiting hours were over. He knew that the nurses would have no problems with him staying with her full time but since he wasn’t family he would respect the visiting hours; even if he was Kelly’s only visitor.  
  
The case had gone cold a week into the investigation. And Two weeks into the investigation it was learned that Kelly’s dad was a Marine. Tony had recused himself early on of participating in the case because he had formed an attachment to Kelly. She was always smiling and laughing. It made his often stressful days seem inconsequential to see her smile and laugh even though such a tragedy had befallen her. The case had been shipped over to NIS because of the nature of the case.  
  
Day after day; Tony would walk in hoping to see a man other than the doctor and nurses sitting with Kelly but also dreading it as well. He’d become attached to Kelly and would miss her infectious smile when her dad did show up.  
  
Eventually a month after Kelly’s admittance into the hospital Tony got news of the hospital’s policy on children whom are left there to contact Children and Youth. Tony knew what the system was like. That same day after work he went to the District Magistrate and requested to be given Temporary Guardianship of Kelly. He stated that her father was a Marine and it was possible that he had not yet received news of the accident. The Magistrate Awarded him Temporary Guardianship over Kelly Gibbs but stated that should the father appear Tony was to hand the child over willingly and also that he would need to reappear for either a continuation on the Temporary guardianship after four months or Request that he be Given Full Guardianship over Kelly.  
  
It was with a smile on his face that he walked into the hospital. He was a little late but he could protect Kelly until someone stepped forward claiming her. He smiled and greeted the nurses who seemed a little upset if not frantic.  
  
“Maria. What’s got your scrubs all in a twist?” he asked of the head nurse Maria. She was the one whom was always there from the time Tony arrived to the time he left.  
  
“Oh, Señor DiNozzo! Thank God you are here. Children and Youth has already been called and are in with niñita Kelly.” Maria said. Tony could tell she was upset because she only slipped into Spanish when she was upset.  
  
Tony walked to Kelly’s room and saw the doctor that had refused to treat Kelly smiling off to the side as one of the younger nurses tried to delay Children and Youth from gaining too much information.  
  
“What is going on here?” Tony asked as if he didn’t know and was confused.  
“Mr. DiNozzo! You are late. Is everything okay?”  
“Everything is just perfect Shelly. And how is my favorite angel today?” Tony asked as he pushed his way over to stand by Kelly’s bed before leaning down and placing a kiss on Kelly’s cheek.  
“Aw. Was my Angel crying? I’m sorry Angel. I had some urgent business to take care of and it couldn’t wait. Forgive Me?” Tony asked as Kelly seeing who it was smiled and laughed waving her hand as If to say “Hi”  
  
“Was there something you needed Doctor? Miss?”  
  
“Yes. My name’s Maggie Carter and I’m a representative from Children and Youth. I am here to do an intake of information so that once this little girl is released from the hospital she can be placed with a faster family until her own family is located.” She said haughtily.  
  
“Well I’m sorry that you made this trip for nothing then Miss Carter. You see I will be taking her home when she is released. My home. This document should give you all the information you need. Now if you’d be so kind as to leave?” Tony smiled as if he really was apologetic while silently fuming.  
“Oh and Miss? Who called you?” Tony questioned almost as if it was an afterthought and inconsequential.  
  
“Her Doctor. A Doctor….Lexington. Why?” she asked.  
  
Did he specifically state that he was her doctor?” Tony asked ignoring her question in favor of his own.  
“Yes. Again Why?”  
  
“Oh you know; so that I can speak with the Dean of Medicine pertaining to a Doctor lying to a Government Employee not to mention attempting to have a child kidnapped. You see Miss Carter, Dr. Lexington is **NOT** nor has he ever been one of her treating doctors. As a matter of fact he refused to treat her when I refused to leave her side. This was even **AFTER** I explained that I am a Homicide Detective and she was under Protective Custody due to the fact her mother’s murderer was still on the loose.” Tony smiled sweetly at the Social Worker while Maria had two security guards hold Dr. Lexington and another to escort the social worker out of the hospital.  
  
Tony smiled and turned to the Dean of Medicine and Dr. Tomiyo who was Kelly’s Doctor and had just arrived to hear Tony’s final statement. The Dean looked at Dr. Lexington and told him he was being suspended pending review by the Hospital Board and the Medical Board. His privileges would also be revoked until a decision had been made since this was not the first complaint that had been brought against him.  
  
Once things had calmed down Tony asked when Kelly would be released. She was breathing fine and walking and talking just fine. Though walking was more like running. Thankfully Kelly would be able to go home soon. Two weeks after the incident Kelly was released from the Hospital into Tony’s care and custody. He’d asked his College Coach’s Wife about what he would need and had gotten a good long lecture that was not only amusing but informative as well as orders to visit and bring the little one with him.  
  
Kelly was lucky. She would still get to go Trick or Treating. Tony smiled remembering the little Angel costume that he’d bought her. He planned to take as many photos as possible. Maybe, depending on how long it took for her dad to show up he’d make a scrap book of events that he could give the man when he did.  
  
Halloween passed and then Thanksgiving. Tony had been invited to his former coach’s house and he agreed. He made sure to get plenty of pictures and video as well. When Christmas rolled around Tony was unsure as to whether Kelly’s dad would show. That and how he’d take the news of Kelly calling him papa. Maybe he shouldn’t have let the coach start teaching her Italian.  He still made sure to take plenty of pictures and video of Kelly’s first Christmas. Soon enough January rolled around and the debate he’d been dreading arose. Did he go for a continuance or go for Full Guardianship.  
  
He’d chosen. Now he had another choice to make. Fight for Kelly or willingly let her be taken. Spring had just started and with it came a notarized letter. Joann Fielding wanted parental custody of Kelly. She’d lost too much already. He would not let her go. Not without a fight; Maternal Grandmother or not. She hadn’t been there when Kelly really needed her family. She hadn’t shown up until Tony had been Granted Full Guardianship.  
  
Soon enough the date to appear in Family Court appeared. It was an unusually warm day in May. Tony had brought all of the documents he needed as well as information on how detrimental it would be to Kelly were she to have another person ripped from her the way her mother had been. After several hours the judge had finally made a decision. She would give Joann Supervised Visitations to see how they progress and review the information at the next hearing. It wasn’t the verdict Tony was hoping for but at least he still would have Kelly most of the time. After making a new appointment for sometime in June Tony left. He had left his contact information with the Lady from Social Services and specifically stated that Joana was **_NOT_** to have it. All contact would be made through Miss. Whiteknight.  
  
Tony received progress reports on how Kelly did with Joann. So far she was okay but the visits had only been a few hours at most. Now, Once again he was dressing nice to appear in Family Court again. Judge Winters seemed like a fair judge so hopefully she wouldn’t place Kelly with Joann permanently just yet. Tony was still gathering evidence supporting his case that removing her from his care would be bad. Apparently insofar the Judge agreed with Tony at least partly. Joann would have Unsupervised Visitation with Kelly every Friday Night to Sunday Night or Monday Morning. Thankfully it was a Monday so Joann wouldn’t be able to have Kelly for several more days yet.  
  
Tony was furious. ‘ _How that wretch could claim to love Kelly I’ll never know. Once I could understand since Kelly is in an unfamiliar setting but this is the third fucking time she’s come home unwashed and hungry_.’ As Tony documented through photo and video evidence the conditions Kelly had returned to him yet again. As he helped Kelly into the tub he noticed something on her back.  
  
“Kelly honey. Can you turn around for Papà?” he asked of his angel. Tony was just glad that he had the foresight to bring his camera with him. There on Kelly’s lower back was what looked like someone had knelt over her with one knee resting on her back.  
  
Documenting the bruising and noting it down as less than 15 minutes after Kelly had been returned to his care. Being a cop had taught him to know how old bruises were and this one looked to be about two days old. After Kelly was in the tub and getting clean and playing he smiled and called Kelly’s pediatrician. Kelly had said it hurt to go pee so Tony wanted to make sure that there were no other nasty surprises. Getting an appointment with Dr. Kim for three hours from now Tony hung up the phone before washing Kelly’s hair and helping her into a warm fluffy towel. Once Kelly was dressed in warm pj’s Tony went and made something for her to eat. After Kelly was fed Tony sat with her reading to her and smiling as she tried to repeat after him  
.  
Finally it was time to leave. Once Tony had Kelly ready and in the car he drove to the doctor’s office. Once checked in Tony sat with Kelly while she slept lightly in his arms. Waking Kelly when they were called back he told the nurse why he was bringing her in and Nurse Shelly took Kelly to the bathroom so she could get a urine specimen. Once Kelly was back in the doctor’s office and all pertinent information had been recorded Nurse Shelly said Dr.Kim would be in shortly. Around 5 minutes or so later Dr. Kim came in frowning.  
  
“Mr. DiNozzo. Kelly has a UTI which is easy enough to treat. What is more concerning is her slight dehydration.”  
  
Tony’s eyes widened and he quickly explained to Dr. Kim about the custody battle and Kelly having just returned home from her Mandatory visits with her Maternal Grandmother. He also mentioned that Every time Kelly returned unfed and unwashed and this time it looks as if she had been held down by someone. As Dr.Kim listened she asked him to help Kelly up onto the table and pull her shirt up so she could see her back. Once Dr. Kim had finished her exam she said she wanted to run some more tests.  
  
When the doctor came back in after drawing blood samples from Kelly she told Tony that she was going to make a note and that if Kelly came back the same next week to bring her in immediately. Dr. Kim was going to write up her professional opinion on what she knew and anything else she would find out from Kelly’s blood. Tony thanked her and once Kelly had gotten a sticker and lollipop from the nurses at the checkout desk they left.  
  
Tony had about had it. Joann was damn lucky that they would be in Family court in two days. Not only had Kelly returned dehydrated and with a UTI but new bruises had appeared as well. A few on Kelly’s arms and legs. One that had been just starting when Tony had taken her in to see Dr. Kim. It had showed up under fluorescents. Dr. Kim had not only written a letter of recommendation against Kelly going with her Grandmother she had also sent in Kelly’s medical files as well as requesting to be there.  
  
Tony like every other court appearance had left Kelly with the neighbor who was a stay at home mother of two.  
  
“All rise.” Judge Winters entered and took her seat. “We are here in the case of Parental custody of One Kelly Gibbs. The plaintiff is the maternal grandmother and the defendant her court approved legal guardian. Will the plaintiff please speak her name for the record.” “Joann Fielding. Maternal Grandmother.”  
  
“Do you bring with you any witnesses?”  
  
“No, Your Honor.” Joann smiled.  
  
“Will the defendant please rise and speak his name for the record?”  
  
“Anthony DiNozzo Jr. Legal Guardian.”  
  
“Does the defendant bring with him any witnesses?”  
  
“Yes, Your Honor. Dr. Kim Kelly’s pediatrician, ADA Casey Novak, Psychiatrist Dr. Langerly, and a photo expert.” Tony stated with neutrality.  
  
The Judge raised an eyebrow at the list of witnesses before continuing on.  
  
“Is there any information that I should be made aware of?”  
  
Yes Your Honor” Tony and Joann said.  
  
“The plaintiff may go ahead.”  
  
“I want to bring to your attention the fact that Kelly is unclean and underfed when she comes to me on Friday Nights. I also want you to be made aware of the fact that as a Detective Mr. DiNozzo is required to be available around the clock. I also want to bring to your attention that I am financially stable as compared to Mr. DiNozzo. I have here a PI’S notes pertaining to Mr. DiNozzo.” Joann knew that no matter what that bastard said she’d have her granddaughter for sure.  
  
Once the bailiff had handed the Judge the papers and looked at them she just nodded and moved on.  
  
“Does the defendant wish to counter these claims?”  
  
“I do your Honor.”  
  
“Go Ahead”  
  
“Firstly I want to address the issue of my financial stability. I have here a _SEALED_ document from my Financial Advisor and another _SEALED_ document from the president of my personal bank as well as the trusts I have received and their amounts.” Tony handed the documents to the bailiff and waited patiently for the judge to finish her observations.  
  
“You may continue”  
  
“Thank you Your Honor. Secondly I want to address the fact that I am a Homicide Detective and I am not required to be on call 24/7/365. I also wish to begin addressing the health of the minor in question. Firstly I would like to bring your attention to the photo documentation of how the minor was returned to my care. As you can see she is unclean in all of these photos. I would also like for you to note the bruises that I found upon the minor after her mandated visit with the plaintiff. I would also like to take this moment to direct your attention to Dr. Kim’s observations as well as the medical ailments the minor returned to me with.” Pausing Tony took a deep breath.  
  
“I would also like to point out that the photo expert is here to authenticate that the photos have in no way been altered. Dr. Kim is also here in case there are any questions pertaining to the medical health of the minor. Finally I am handing the stage to ADA Novak.”  
  
“Your honor. I am here to inform you that no matter what the decision you make the state is filing charges of Child Endangerment, Child Abuse, and Attempted Murder of a Minor.”  
  
As she stepped back letting that sink into the Judge’s brain she took a brief look over to the plaintiff’s side.  
  
“I have a lot of information to investigate so I am calling a recess. Court will resume in two hours.” Judge Winters left the court while Tony and his troupe went for some light lunch.  
  
With court now back in session Tony hoped that the verdict would be favorable for not only his sake but Kelly’s as well.  
  
“I have come to a decision regarding Parental Custody of Kelly Gibbs.”  
  
As everyone waited with bated breath for the verdict the judge continued “Normally in cases such as these those with blood ties are awarded custody. I debated long and hard on this and I am awarding Full Parental Custody of the Minor Kelly Gibbs to the defendant Anthony DiNozzo Jr. Case Dismissed!” and with a bang if her gavel she leaned back to watch the fireworks.  
  
“ **WHAT!?!?!?** You can’t!!! **YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME CUSTODY!**!!” Joann yelled as two armed officers walked over and proceeded to arrest her “ **YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME**!!!” She screamed as she was cuffed.  
  
Tony stood there wide-eyed and slack jawed before managing to slump into his seat. “I won… Full Parental Custody…”  
  
“ **PAPÀ!**!” Kelly yelled as she bowled into him only to be caught up in his arms as he spun her around. “No more worries my angel. You don’t ever have to see the mean old lady again.” Tony stated as Kelly, with all of the conviction a Two year old has said “Good. I miss Papà and she’s reawwy meen and reawwy old.” Causing several court officials to cover up their snickering at her statement. As Tony went to walk out a thought struck him ‘ _Full Parental Custody?!?! How the Hell does that work_?’ Turning back around he moved to the front of the court hoping the judge was still there. Luckily she was.  
  
“Judge Winters? I have a question?”  
  
“Ask it?”  
  
“What exactly did you mean by Full Parental Custody?”  
  
Smiling she said “Basically Kelly will be seen as your daughter now no matter what. Due to the plaintiff asking for Full Parental Custody you in essence were being named as a parent even though you weren’t. With her losing you immediately gain Custody and this is something that can’t be revoked. Basically you have just adopted this beautiful little angel.” Tony’s eyes widened. “Me. Being listed as her father? Wow!” Thank you Judge Winters.”  
  
“Don’t thank me. You can thank the plaintiff for not reading the fine print.”  
  
Upon leaving the courthouse he called those who were important enough to have known about Kelly and the Custody Battle and gave them the good news. One of his frat brothers, Steve, asked if she would have his last name. Tony said he wasn’t sure yet. Once he had hung up he kept thinking of what Steve had said. Steve was a Frat Brother. One of the few he still talked to. He was smart and had common sense. Something he himself sometimes lacked. Steve was the one to patch up their minor injuries from that lack of common sense.  
  
Three months later Tony just couldn’t get what Steve had said out of his head. He’d been over this a thousand times with himself and had even called Vinnie, another Frat Brother, to ask his opinion. Vinnie has just opened his own Legal Practice and had been a godsend for Tony so far. It was a running joke that Vinnie was only a Lawyer so he could bail them out when they got in over their heads.  
  
Vinnie had always been straightforward. He told Tony that he could legally have Kelly’s name changed and if her father did ever show up they could probably work out some kind of deal without another court battle. Vinnie even said he’d help if need be. He also helped Tony to update his Will. Just in case Tony were to ever die before Kelly was 18. He had asked Dom and Brian if they would take Kelly in such an event and they’d agreed. Once he’d finished his business with Vinnie he called the number Vinnie had given him so he could set up a time to have Kelly’s name changed.  
  
One week before Christmas everything had been finalized. This would be Kelly’s third (fourth?) Christmas but Kelly Gibbs-DiNozzo’s first. Tony hadn’t wanted to completely change Kelly’s name. This way if they ever found out what had happened to Kelly’s dad she would still have his last name as well as her Papa’s. He wanted Kelly to have some form of connection with her parents other than her looks and some vague memories.  
  
Two Months later Tony was transferring from Philly to Baltimore. Extenuating Circumstances necessitated his transfer. That and he wanted to make it harder for Joann to find them when and IF she ever got out. After arriving and meeting his new partner, Danny, he asked about daycare’s and schools for his little girl. The men and women in the precinct with kids had been extremely helpful in his search.  He just hadn’t expected the questions about why Kelly had two last names and where her mother was. All of the questions and odd looks when he mentioned her having another father and trying to explain why she had two last names led to him enrolling Kelly in daycare as Kelly G. DiNozzo. When it was time for Kelly to start Pre-school/Head start Tony enrolled her as Kelly G. DiNozzo. By this point he had pretty much forgotten what the G meant and he never explained it and they never asked. Oh sure, he still had Vinnie checking into finding Kelly’s dad and a PI courtesy of Vinnie but they never got anywhere.  
  
It was shortly after Tony had moved to Baltimore that Vinnie had called and mentioned hiring a PI to find Kelly’s “”other father“” as Vinnie had referred to him. Tony had agreed and was given a progress report that never seemed to change. Eventually Tony had just figured that the man had been killed while serving and decided that when Kelly got older he would tell her that her father had been killed in action.  
  
TBC…  
  
AN: ninitas is Spanish for Little one or Little girl.  
 ~~"L'amore è Sempre di valore Esso"~~ is Italian for "Love is Always Worth It"  
"L'amore vale sempre la pena" is the correct way to say the above also said as "Love is Always worth the Pain." The way it would be said in Italian.  
Also I suck at coming up with names so if there are any recognizable names I'm sorry.Also I know that the actress who plays Casey Novak on Law & Order: SVU also plays CGIS Agent Borin but I honestly just needed a name and as neither character will actaully show up I just didn't change it.  



	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony saves Kelly; years later he meets her dad and falls in love with him.

**Chapter One**  
  
Two years later would find Tony on a case that had him crossing paths with an Undercover Navy Cop. Leroy Jethro Gibbs. When all was said and done Tony had lost respect for Danny and planned to quit the force. Getting the job offer from Gibbs had been a godsend but he figured his new employer should know up front about his family life. So once Tony had gotten the chance to speak he had told Gibbs that he had custody of his Five year old Daughter. Tony had noticed a flash of something in the admittedly sexy older man’s eyes when Tony mentioned having a daughter but eventually just put it off to a trick of the lighting. Thankfully Gibbs did not care and the subject was never brought up again.  
  
Two years into Tony’s working at NCIS, Gibbs added another member to the Team that had previously consisted of just himself and Tony. Caitlin Todd. Tony wasn’t sure what to make of her at first. Yes she was pretty but Tony had his eye on someone older, male and decidedly unavailable. Soon enough though Tony found himself enjoying working with Kate. No matter what most thought Kate was like a sister to him. Yes he enjoyed teasing her just to get a rise out of her but he also knew she would be there for him no matter what. Still…there were a few things he hadn’t told her. Hadn’t told anyone other than Gibbs and that was only a brief mention when he was hired.  
  
Tony was a father. His beautiful daughter. It was hard to believe that she was seven already. Time was just flying by. Someday soon he would have to introduce her properly to the team. Oh sure she knew of those he considered family here at NCIS. Her Aunt Abby, her Aunt Kate, nonno Ducky, and the Bossman. Soon. Definitely soon. Before long another member had been added to the team. MIT grad Timothy McGee. He also gained an honorary name from Kelly this time. Her Uncle Timmy. Thankfully she hadn’t picked up on his propensity to make fun of McGee and she hopefully wouldn’t; at least not until they had been properly introduced. Of course at eight years old Kelly was becoming quite the troublemaker. How she could be a troublemaker and yet not want to fight was beyond him.  
  
Then…they caught a case. A Navy Lieutenant had been murdered. They’d gone to the crime scene and collected the evidence. Unfortunately it wasn’t much to go on. He’d been trying to track down some leads when his phone rang.  
  
~ “DiNozzo”  
  
~ _Mr. DiNozzo, This is the School Nurse calling._  
  
~ “Yes?”  
  
~ _There was an Incident at recess and Kelly wanted me to call you._  
  
~ “Oka-ay.”  
  
~ _Would you like me to put her on?_  
  
~ “Please do.”  
  
~ _Papà?_  
  
~ “Yes Sweetie?”  
  
~ _A boy pushed me on the playground and I hit my head and it really really really hurts and I was throwing up in the nurses office and I don’t know how I got to the nurse’s and you always said that if I hit my head I should tell you right away cause if I hit my head really hard I might need to see the doctor and so I had Ms. T call you cause you always told me I should tell you right away and I still don’t feel too good. Can I come Home? Please Papà?_ ~  
  
~ “Of Course Sweetheart.”  
  
~ _Kay. Here’s Ms. T again. I think she wants to talk to you._  
  
 _~ Mr. DiNozzo?_  
  
~ “Yes?”  
  
~ _Do you wish to pick your daughter up? She seems to only have a slight headache and no fever. She is perfectly fit to return to class._  
  
~ “I’ll be there in about ONE hour or less if possible.”  
  
~ _Understood Mr. DiNozzo. I will inform Kelly’s teachers and the office that she is going home._  
  
“Boss I need to take the rest of the day off. Family Emergency. I’ll be back tomorrow.” Tony said as he grabbed his gun, badge, cell, keys, and his pack.  
  
“No. We have an active case DiNozzo.”  
  
“But…Fine. I’ll be back in an hour” as he tossed his pack back down by his desk before heading towards the elevators.  
  
“DiNozzo! Where do ya think you’re going?” Gibbs questioned as Tony went to leave.  
  
As he was stepping into the elevators he said “Lunch and Coffee run. I’ll be back in an hour.”  
  
 _*Scene Switch*_  
  
Upon arriving at Kelly’s school Tony parked the car and walked into the school making a B-Line for the Office which was located somewhere towards the center of the school. It would mean he’d have to pass a few classrooms but it was the most direct route. While he was passing one of the open classroom doors, unbeknownst to Tony, the Teacher happened to look over and caught a glimpse of his weapon but not his badge and called Security. Upon arriving at the Office he walked in and over to the office lady/receptionist and waited a bit impatiently for her to look up.  
  
Finally fed up with waiting he cleared his throat and said “Hi. My name’s Anthony DiNozzo I’m here to pick my daughter Kelly DiNozzo up.”  
  
“Of Course. If you’ll hold on a moment I’ll call over to the Nurse’s and have her sent up.” The secretary replied.  
  
Five Minutes later Kelly enters the office with her backpack and Tony signs her out before picking her up and carrying her and her bag out to the car. On his way there he runs into one of the Security Guards, one of the reasons he chose this school even though it was out of his living area. Tony smiles and greets the guard and manages to reach his badge and hand it to the guard who examines it before handing it back and telling him it was a false alarm. Teacher had called in a man with a gun. Apparently she hadn’t seen the badge. Tony just smiled and said that it was fine. It was not the first time and won’t likely be the last it’s happened before continuing on his way out of the School and to his car.  
  
 _*Scene Change-- >Navy Yard*_  
  
Upon arriving back at the Navy Yard Tony carries Kelly down to Autopsy to get checked out by Ducky. He doesn’t trust a School Nurse’s opinion to diagnose a possible concussion. He peeks in before fully going into autopsy to make sure that there are no dead bodies on the tables and that Ducky has finished his Autopsy of the dead Navy Lieutenant.  
  
“Hey Ducky. You done with that Autopsy yet?” Tony questions from just outside the room.  
  
“Anthony my dear boy. Yes I am finished. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”  
  
Stepping fully into the room he replies “I need you to take a look at my daughter. I don’t trust that School Nurse to know what a Concussion is let alone to properly diagnose it. She hit her head pretty hard on the asphalt and was passed out for a couple minutes at least.”  
  
“Of course my dear boy. You never mentioned that you had a daughter though.” Ducky queried as he pulled a penlight out of his pocket and began running through a check-up on his young patient.  
  
“Yeah Ducky… not many people do; mainly because I don’t want all the fuss that would be made if it was common knowledge. It is in my personnel file though.” Was Tony’s honest answer as he watched Ducky checking his daughter’s Eyesight and Coordination.  
  
“It looks to me to be a Very Minor Mild Concussion. Nothing to stress out too badly about and unless she shows signs of continued dizziness or double-vision or fainting then shouldn’t need to go to the hospital. I would follow up with her pediatrician within the week though.”  
  
“Thanks Ducky. I’m gonna pop on up to Abby’s lab and see if she’ll keep an eye one Kelly for me while I get back to working this case. See You Later Ducky.” And with a final wave from both Kelly and Tony he walked out of autopsy and to the elevators to Abby’s Lab.  
  
 _**Scene Change Abby’s Lab**_  
  
Tony walks in. “Abby. Hey Abbs…Abby!”  
  
“What?! Oh, Tony. She’s a cutie. Is she part of your case?”  
  
“What? Oh, no. Abby this is my daughter Kelly. Kelly meet your Aunt Abby.”  
  
Abby is her usual bubbly self and hopping from foot to foot.  
  
“Can you watch her for a bit Abbs? I need to get back to the bullpen and hopefully find a lead and I don’t want her up there in-case we do and we gotta go running out.”  
  
“Of course Tony! Don’t worry she’s in good hands. C’mon Sweetie, I’ll show you how to make a Volcano.”  
  
“Thanks Abbs. Don’t worry Kelly I’ll be down to get you as soon as I can. You’ll have plenty of fun. If you want to see me just have Abby give you a tour. She knows where I’ll be.” Tony says while kneeling down in front of Kelly.  
  
Kissing Kelly’s check he says “Now I need you to be a good girl for your Aunt Abby and don’t let your Zia drink too much CafPow!.”  
  
Standing he waves goodbye to Kelly and Abby and heads back up to the bullpen where he continues to try and connect the dots while their suspects cool their heels in interrogation.  
  
Ignoring Kate and McGee’s teasing and questions he immerses himself in the life of their dead Lieutenant and their suspects trying to find anything that would give them a concrete motive as to why the Lieutenant was killed. Ignoring Kate’s continued comments about his dating habits he went back through the phone records looking for a connection. After several hours of working and finding several things that needed to be looked into deeper Tony heard the elevator ding, but didn’t look up.  
  
It wasn’t until Tony heard Abby’s voice that he started slowing down knowing that she was only up there for one reason. He had to hide a smile on his face knowing that the team was about to get the shock of their lives.  
  
“And this is our stop. He should be just around the corner. I know he hasn’t left the building to track a lead.” Abby was heard saying right before a girl’s voice was heard.  
  
“I see him! Papà! Look what Aunt Abby helped me make!” Kelly yelled running up to Tony and showing him the picture and stuffed bat she held.  
  
Picking her up and sitting her on his lap Tony smiled down at his daughter and told her that her picture was very beautiful and that he’s going to pin it up right next to him so he can see it every day.  
  
Looking up at Abby he asks “Why a Bat Abbs?”  
  
“It was Kelly’s choice not mine” Abby says looking as innocent as possible.  
  
“Papà? Can I keep the bat in Aunt Abby’s lab so I can come back and see her?”  
  
Laughing Tony replies “Of course you can sweetheart. Now why don’t you go back downstairs with Abby until I finish up here. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”  
  
“Kay.” Kelly says hopping down from her father’s lap and running over to Abby who picked her up and swung her onto her shoulders while telling Tony that she’d see him later as she carried a giggling Kelly to the stairs.  
  
Gibbs mutters something about going for coffee while heading towards the elevator.  
  
Tony’s eyes follow Gibbs as he walks to the elevator. Thinking Gibbs’ gut wasn’t telling him anything that would be helpful with the case.  
  
At the moment they were at a standstill with the victims and suspects having nothing showing up in their financials or background checks. They’ve had cases start out that way but most of the time Abby or one of his movie references helps take the case in a new direction.  
  
Gibbs gets in and waits a few seconds before hitting the switch. All the while a million thoughts were running through Gibbs’ head. Questions like; how and why and when. For you see Gibbs recognized Tony’s daughter. Yes she may have only been an infant the last time he’d seen her but he would recognize her anywhere. How his daughter had survived and Tony had ended up with her and why Tony hadn’t told him were a few questions that ran through his head. Oh and the fact that Mike Franks would have a lot of explaining to do once he’d heard Tony’s explanation.  
  
When Gibbs got back from his coffee run Tony stepped into the elevator with him. As they were heading up to the bullpen Gibbs flipped the Emergency stop switch and turned to Tony.  
  
“What’s Kelly’s Full name?”  
  
“Huh? Oh Kelly G. DiNozzo. Why?” Tony replied.  
  
“What does the G stand for?” Gibbs questioned.  
  
“Gibbssssssssssssssssssssss…ooooh boy…You’re related to Kelly aren’t you? How come I never made the connection? I am such an idiot. Some investigator I am.” Tony began muttering self-deprecatingly.  
  
 ****WACK****  
  
A resounding slap was heard in the elevator as Gibbs slapped Tony upside the back of his head.  
  
Rubbing the back of his head lightly Tony turned and asked “Do you know where Kelly’s dad is?”  
  
“Of course DiNozzo. He’s standing right in front of you.” Gibbs replied matter-of-factly.  
  
Tony just stared slack jawed at Gibbs. He should have figured that out a few years ago; beating himself up for not putting two and two together. Some investigator he was. The whole time the man he’s been falling in love with, working with was also Kelly’s father.  
  
While Tony was lost in his thoughts he didn’t even see the hand Gibbs was raising.  
  
 ****WACK****  
  
Another head-slap courtesy of his Boss.  
  
“You know if you keep doing that I’ll end up breaking my own record of concussions in a month.” Tony said while ducking another head-slap from Gibbs.  
  
Looking at him he knew that Gibbs had questions and that the older man would find it hard to ask them.  
  
“I know you probably have a lot of questions Gibbs. I’ll give you a short version now and a more detailed one later okay?”  
  
A nod from Gibbs was his only answer.  
  
“I was one of the first Homicide Detective that responded to the call out. EMT was a lazy idiot and declared them both dead. I was the only one able to get into the wreckage and get their bodies out. Kelly was alive. I went to the hospital. At the time we didn’t know her name. We found out and then not long after the case was shipped to NCIS when the lead detective found out that Kelly and Shannon were listed as dependents for someone in the Military. I wasn’t lead cause I’d removed myself so I could keep an eye on Kelly in case the bastard that shot Shannon came back for Kelly. Eventually I stopped looking for you myself and hired a PI to keep searching. Can call and tell him to stop now. When Kelly was released from the hospital she came to live with me. Eventually changed her name after asking my lawyer about it.” Tony glanced over at Gibbs to catch the barest hint of a smile.  
  
“Anyway I’ll bring Kelly over after work or after the case is solved; whichever comes first. You can explain to me what happened on your end then.” Tony said before flipping the switch and starting the elevator back up to the bullpen.  
  
An hour and a half later Tony had found the connection between their dead Navy Lieutenant and the Petty Officer. They had been in a relationship and when the Lt. tried to break it off she had flipped and killed him. Gibbs had managed to get the whole story out of her after Tony had found the phone calls and credit card receipts that linked the two.  
  
 _*~After Work~*_  
  
Sitting in his car Tony stared back at Kelly through the rear view mirror contemplating what had happened in such a short amount of time. He knew she’d recognize Gibbs. She had an incredible memory. She could remember everything about her mommy and daddy. Tony should have seen the resemblance, should have noticed how well Kelly’s description of her ‘daddy’ seemed to descried Gibbs. Maybe he had noticed it, subconsciously, and just didn’t want to see what was right there in front of him.  
  
He’d always known that there was a chance that Kelly’s Dad would show up and take her away, he just hadn’t let himself think of what he would do if that happened.  
  
Watching Kelly sleep in the backseat he felt his heart constrict. This would be the last time he’d see his bambina. He wasn’t going to put Kelly through another Custody Battle. She still occasionally had nightmares about the first one. He also wouldn’t make her have to choose between him and Gibbs. She’d be happy and he knew she would be well cared for. He had been able to tell that despite Gibbs’ gruff exterior he loved Kelly and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, just like Tony wouldn’t. He also knew that he couldn’t put Kelly through the constant struggle of going from Gibbs home to Tony’s Apartment and back.  
  
God he didn’t want to do this! He had half a mind to just turn back and grab some things and run off with Kelly. He’d raised her for seven fucking years!! Where the Hell was Gibbs? Living it up and remarrying three fucking times!!! He should resent him for just waltzing in and claiming Kelly back but…he couldn’t. Damnit!!! He loved the man too fucking much. How and when his feeling for the man had gone from admiration and lust to falling head over heels in love with him Tony didn’t know, but none of that mattered now. Life on the run was no way to raise a child and he could never put Kelly through that.  
  
Damn but his life sucked right now. He was already missing her and she was still right there asleep in the back seat. He just had to fall in love with Gibbs. It would have been so much easier to work something out if he wasn’t in love with Kelly’s dad. The worst part being Gibbs was straight and would never date a man, let alone someone like Tony. Plus there was Rule 12.  
  
Taking a deep breath Tony opened his door and stepped out. Walking around to the passenger side he opened the door and lifted a still sleeping Kelly out of the backseat.  
  
 _‘Sometimes I swear she’d sleep through a Nuclear Explosion if left alone_ ’ Tony thought with a mournful chuckle.  
  
As he carried Kelly into the house he continued to think. He knew he’d need to leave. He wouldn’t be able to stay in DC knowing that his bambina was now living happily with her daddy. Oh sure she’d probably be a little upset about Tony’s leaving but it wouldn’t be anything noteworthy. She’d be too happy with having her daddy back. Thankfully the team was off rotation for the next few days. It would give Tony time to put his resignation into Gibbs email and the Director as well as pack a bag of his clothes and be gone before anyone realized he was gone. He’d leave the spare key to his apartment in Kelly’s backpack so Gibbs could get Kelly’s things once he found out Tony was gone.  
  
Tony really should have paid more attention to his old neighbors when they told him about what not to do when it comes to children. Yeah they were resilient but he was really underestimating not only himself as a parent but just how much Kelly loved him. Of course if he’d had any idea of the chain of events that would follow he probably wouldn’t have been so self-deprecating. He really shouldn’t make assumptions based on past events and the actions of people that had no self-conscience.  
  
TBC…  
  
A/N: Here’s the translations. From this point out unless specified otherwise these are all Italian ~ English translations.  
Papà ~ dad  
nonno ~ grandpa/granddad/grandfather  
bambina ~ child  
Zia ~ Aunt  
  
A/N: As an aside while I may have recieved my fair share of concussions I never once went to the hospital for them. The symtoms are just what I experienced and my sister-in-law told me that I most likely had a concussion and should get it checked(she's the medical professional) but I despise hospitals so you can guess I didn't.  
Also as an aside...I am basing Tony's reactions to the situation on something that I myself witnessed happen to a friend in a similar(similar not the same) situation. And Kelly's speech is based off of my own experience with children(3 nieces and 2 nephews).


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony saves Kelly; years later he meets her dad and falls in love with him.

Chapter Two  
  
Gibbs was working on the boat in his basement when he heard Tony’s car pull into his driveway. He heard as Tony opened the door and walked through the living room into the kitchen. He only heard one set of footsteps which meant that Tony must be carrying Kelly. Smiling softly he couldn’t help but think how right that thought seemed.  
  
Walking into Gibbs house Tony walked through the living room and into the kitchen where the door to the basement was located. As he passed the couch he slipped Kelly’s backpack down onto it, key to his apartment already inside.  
  
Upon arriving at the kitchen he whispered into Kelly’s hair that it was time to wake up. He has a surprise for her. Setting her down on her feet he covers her eyes before guiding her into the landing at the top of the basement steps. Kneeling down with her he whispered “Surprise” in her ear as he pulled his hands away from her eyes and smiled at her reaction.  
  
“DADDY!!!” Kelly yelled upon looking down and seeing Gibbs sanding the boat. She ran down the stairs as fast as she could without falling only to be scooped up into Gibbs arms once she reached the bottom.  
  
Smiling slightly even while his heart constricted Tony slowly backed out of the basement before walking as swiftly and silently out of the house and to his car. He couldn’t break down here. Not yet at least. He just had to make it home and then he’d let himself break.  
  
Meanwhile Gibbs looked up to where Tony had been standing to tell him thank you and ask him to stay, only to find that Tony was gone. Frowning slightly he set Kelly back down on her feet. Once she was standing she turned and looked up to the top of the stairs the words “ _Papà come on. Get down here_ ” dying on her lips as she realized he wasn’t there.  
  
“Papà! Where’d You Go?” Kelly asked while running up the stairs hoping to find him out of view.  
  
Swearing softly Gibbs ran after Kelly when he heard Tony’s car start and the tire’s squeal as he tore out of his driveway. He could hear Kelly yelling “Papà!?!?!?! Wait!! Don’t leave Papà!!! Don’t go!!!”  
  
“Papà!!!”  
  
Reaching the front door Gibbs cursed again. The door stood wide open and Kelly was on her knees in the middle of the driveway silently crying and staring at the rapidly disappearing taillights of Tony’s car. Walking over to her he knelt down and picked her up, carrying her into the house while trying to soothe her.  
  
Her sobbing litany of words was ripping his heart out. He may not be able to understand most of it but he could guess just by the tone that she was upset and wondering why Tony had left and he had no clue how to answer her. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he knew how to fix this.  
  
Kelly’s constant litany of “ _Non andare, Papà, ritorna. Perchè mi lasci Papà? Mi dispiace Papà. Ti voglio bene Papà. Per favore...per favore...ritorna. Daddy why did Papà go?_ ” was tugging at Gibbs’ heartstrings.  He didn’t know why Tony had left like he had but, as soon as he got Kelly calmed down enough that she would willingly let go of him he was going to call Abby and then go after Tony.  
  
 _‘Damnit DiNozzo. I will kick your ass when I find you.’_ He thought as he continued to murmur soothingly to Kelly.  
  
“Shhh. Don’t worry. I’ve got you. Daddy’s got you. Don’t worry Papà will be back. I’ll get him back. It’s okay Kelly…Everything will be okay. You’ll see…” He continued on in that way for almost an hour before Kelly’s sobs started to turn into soft hiccoughing and eventually died away with only the occasional hiccough and tearful mumble of “Papà” being heard.  
  
Once Kelly had fallen into a fitful sleep he walked over and gently placed her on the couch. Running his fingers softly through her hair he reached for his cell phone with the other hand.  
  
Standing up he hit Speed Dial 2 and listened to the ringing. “You’ve reached DiNozzo, I am otherwi…”  
  
Growling with a flip of his phone he disconnected.  
  
“Damnit he knows not to be unreachable.” He grumbled lowly while hitting speed dial 5.  
  
~ “Abbs.”  
  
 _“Gibbs! What’s going on?”_  
  
~ “Abbs. I need a favor. Can you come over and keep an eye on Kelly?”  
  
 _“Of Course! But, why are you calling me and not Tony? And what’s Tony’s daughter doing there anyway? Is there something you’re not telling me Gibbs?”_  
  
~ “Abbs! I’ll tell you later. Just…can you be here in an hour?”  
  
 _“Yeah sure Bossman!!”_  
  
“Thanks Abbs.” He said before disconnecting and trying Tony's cell again.  
  
This time it went straight to voicemail which could only mean Tony had turned his cell off.  
  
 _'Probably thinks I'll trace it'_ Gibbs thought as he paced back and forth in the entry hall, one ear tuned to any noises from the living room.  
  
He tried Tony’s cell again 20 minutes later with the same results. It went straight to voicemail.  
  
He tried Tony’s cell a total of three more times before Abby showed up. All with the same results. Tony’s phone was still turned off and it would go straight to voicemail.  
  
When Abby finally got there he kept her in the entrance hall for a moment quietly telling her that he would explain what was going on better later but he needed to go find Tony first.  
  
“Abbs. Just please keep an eye on Kelly for me. I’d take her with me but I have no idea where Tony is or if he is even okay. I do know he is not thinking clearly and I don’t want her to see him like that.” Gibbs said quietly.  
  
Nodding Abby agreed that it was better for Gibbs to go after Tony alone. There was no telling what Tony would be like when Gibbs did find him. She knew something was obviously going on but she would wait. She hated not knowing things but she also knew that if Tony had left Kelly here then her knowing would have her too worried to concentrate on keeping Kelly from worrying.  
  
Walking into the Living room Gibbs kneels down by the couch and wakes Kelly to let her know that he’ll be back in a little bit. He’s going to go find her Papà and drag him back here even if he has to tie him up and throw him over his shoulder. It gets a small smile and a little laugh out of Kelly, which is what he was going for. It also gets a giggle from Abby at the mental image of Tony tied up and Gibbs carrying him over his shoulder.  
  
He kisses Kelly on the cheek.  
  
“I won’t be gone long. Be good for Abby sweetie. I Love You Kelly. Don’t worry I’ll bring your wayward Papà home and you can smother him with kisses when we get back.” Gibbs tells her as he gives her one more hug and another kiss on her cheek before turning to Abby.  
  
“No painting her fingernails black Abbs.” He says while pulling a jacket on and grabbing his keys. Turning for the door he gives her a kiss on her cheek as he passes her and heads out the door. As he’s getting in his truck he pauses when Abby runs outside and hands him something.  
  
Giving her a questioning look she quickly explains “It’s a key to Tony’s apartment. I think. It was in Kelly’s backpack. It fell out when I accidentally knocked it off the couch.”  
  
“Thanks Abbs.” He says before kissing her cheek and getting back in his truck and leaving.  
  
 _**Scene Switch -- > Tony’s Apartment**_  
  
Tony had arrived home and gone straight to Kelly’s bedroom. He sat down on her bed for a moment before collapsing back and letting his emotions break free. Curling up on his side, back to the door, he grabbed Kelly’s favorite teddy bear and cried. He knew he needed to get up, type his resignation and pack but he didn’t want to. All he really wanted was to be able to hold his piccina in his arms again. Hear her laughter, see her smile.  
  
He didn’t hear his front door open nor the footsteps as they searched through his apartment.  
As Gibbs walked through the apartment he smiled softly at all of the photos of Tony and Kelly hanging on the walls. He walked down the hall looking for Tony. He found the younger man in what was obviously Kelly’s bedroom. Curled up on the bed and sobbing quietly.  
  
“DiNozzo…Tony.” Gibbs said softly before saying “Tony” with a little more heat in his voice.  
  
“Go ‘way Gibbs” was Tony’s muffled reply.  
  
“Not goin’ anywhere without you Tony.” Was Gibbs reply.  
  
Tony shot up off the bed and turned to Gibbs yelling “Get the fuck outta my house Gibbs! Get out you fucking Bastard!”  
  
Poking Gibbs in the chest he began spewing obscenities at the older man.  
  
“Bastardo! You motherfucker! You’re an asshole. A motherfucking, testa di cazzo. Ti odio!!! Bastardo!!! Hijo de puta!!!!You insensitive prick!! Out!!! I want you out of here!!! You got what you wanted you fucker!!! Get out!!! I hate you!!!! I hate you!!!Just leave me the fuck alone you motherfucking Bastard. Figlio di puttana! You can take your stupid pity and métetelo por el culo you motherfucker! Get the fuck out of here you stronzo!!!!"  
  
Gibbs eventually got fed up with Tony’s poking and grabbed his wrists in his hands effectively stopping the poking and pulling Tony till he was right in front of him and very close wrapping his arms around the other man’s waist to keep him there. He’d understood most of it but what he hadn’t he’d ask Tony about later.  
  
Tony’s yelling had died off for the most part by this point and he fell against Gibbs banging his closed fists against the older man’s chest and calling him a bastard in a broken voice.  
  
Eventually Tony quieted completely and Gibbs said “Not denyin’ I’m a bastard Tony. Not leavin’ either; at least not ‘til you’ve calmed down and packed a couple bags so we can go home to our daughter.”  
  
Tony, who’d only heard the part about packing bags, pulled away and stalked off down the hall. Once he’d reached the closet he opened the door and pulled out two child sized suitcases and a matching duffel. Stalking back to Kelly’s room he ignored Gibbs completely.  
  
 _‘Bastard! Of course that’s the only fucking reason he came here! To get Kelly’s things. To think…Bastard almost had me fooled. I can’t believe I thought that maybe…maybe…Damnit I need to pull myself together!’_ Tony thought as he began to go through Kelly’s clothes and pack them into her suitcases. He remembered when he’d bought the suitcases for Kelly. It was shortly after he’d moved to Baltimore. They were going to visit Vinnie in Florida and he’d realized he didn’t have anything for her to put her clothes in.  
  
He remembered how frustrated he’d been back then. Her refusal to go with what the sales lady had shown them had frustrated Tony to no end, not only because the saleswoman had a high annoying giggle and was grating on his nerves but Kelly had been stubborn even back then. All he had wanted to do was get a luggage set and get out of there. He’d seen Kelly’s eyes light up when she’d laid eyes on this particular set. Looking back he realized how Ironic it was that Kelly had chosen this particular set. The set was pale camouflage and had a Black Charger on the front of it. At the time he thought it was just the Charger that had caught her fancy because Dominic had a Black Charger that Kelly had fallen in love with. At the time it was only half finished because of the accident that had almost cost Brian his life. It was also the accident that had made Dominic realize how much of an idiot he had been up until that point.  
  
Looking back now he also realized that in some way Kelly must have seen the camouflage as a reminder of Gibbs.  
  
Once he had one suitcase filled with clothes for Kelly he moved onto the next one and began placing an assortment of toys, books, and some framed photographs of him and Kelly. Gibbs could do what he wanted with them. With that finished he placed several pairs of shoes in the duffel and zipped it shut. He carried it all to the front door and set them down by it before turning around and seeing Gibbs standing in Kelly’s doorway just watching him.  
  
“There. Now get the hell outta here!” Tony said while attempting to walk past Gibbs.  
  
As he walked past him Gibbs grabbed Tony to stop him but before he could speak, Tony ripped his arm away and continued walking past. Curling back up on Kelly’s bed with his back facing Gibbs he let himself fall into a restless sleep, not wanting to watch as Gibbs leaves, as he would surely be doing now that he had what he came for.  
  
Gibbs watched Tony walk away with a small frown on his face. Once he realized Tony had no intention of moving he went to the Hall closet and pulled out what looked to be a Garment bag and suitcase belonging to Tony.  
  
 _‘Should’ve known he’d have something just as expensive for those suits of his’_ he thought chuckling softly. The only reason he grabbed the bag was because he knew if he didn’t use the garment bag Tony would never stop bitching about it.  
  
Walking down the hall to what had to be Tony’s room he walked over to the bed and placed the suitcase and bag there before walking over to the closet and opening the doors. Pulling out several suits he walked back and placed them in the bag. Once he had packed as many suits as he could in the bag he closed it up and opened the suitcase. He then walked over to the dresser that sat against the far wall.  
  
Opening the drawers he began pulling an assortment of jeans, sweats, t-shirts, muscle shirts, and sweatshirts out and tossing them all into the suitcase that laid open on Tony’s bed. Once he had finished with the clothes he went back and dug through Tony’s underwear and sock drawers for socks and boxers for the younger man. When he found a smallish box hidden in the back of Tony’s underwear drawer his curiosity was piqued. It was obviously not meant to be found by prying eyes under any circumstance but Gibbs was thorough and had pretty much cleaned out the underwear and sock drawers.  
  
Opening the box he raised an eyebrow at its contents. Nestled inside the box was a very realistic looking cock shaped vibrator, several packages of batteries, what looked like some sort of cleanser, and several tubes of lube.  
  
 _‘Well that answers one question. Now I know he’s not adverse to the idea of sex with a man. Don’t think he’d have this hidden in his underwear drawer if he was. Now I just need to convince him that I’m serious about wanting a relationship and not just because of Kelly either.’_ Gibbs thought with a little trepidation. Tony could be just as stubborn as he was.  
  
Walking back over to the bed he put the box in a somewhat hidden compartment in the suitcase and closed it up. Grabbing what was obviously the toiletries bag he walked into the attached bathroom and grabbed toiletries for Tony. He wasn’t going to let the man leave if he could prevent it and if things worked out the way he wanted Tony would be living with him pretty damn soon!  Walking back out to put the smaller bag with the rest of the stuff he walked back out to the hall closet and made sure to pack a few pairs of shoes for Tony as well. If things worked out they would be coming back for the rest of Tony and Kelly’s things soon anyway.  
  
Grabbing the bags he carried them to the living room and sat them down next to Kelly’s things before walking back to check on Tony. He didn’t look like he was going to stir anytime soon so he walked back out to the living room and grabbed some of the bags. Walking out of the apartment he carried them down to his truck and placed them in the back of it before going back for the rest of the bags. Once he had all of Tony’s bags and had grabbed Kelly’s and placed them in the truck alongside Tony’s stuff he made sure he locked his truck not knowing how long it would take for him to convince Tony to come back to the house with him.  
  
Tony had woken up by this point and wandered out of Kelly’s room and to the bathroom to piss. Walking back out he wandered into the living room only to stop dead and slide to the floor upon seeing that Kelly’s bags were gone. He hadn’t realized it would hurt this much when Gibbs left. The not knowing when the older man had left was worse than knowing when he had. He didn’t know how long he sat there just staring at the spot where he’d placed Kelly’s things. Wondering how his life became so screwed in just a few hours. One minute his life was damn near perfect and now…now his life was empty.  
  
When Gibbs walked back in he found Tony sitting on the floor and staring sightlessly at the wall near where the bags had been with tears running down his cheeks. He didn’t even seem to notice them.  
Gibbs felt his heart clench a little at the sight. This man…he’d done what most people wouldn’t. He’d taken in a child he barely knew and had raised her on his own for 7 years. Still Tony was willing to let the little girl he raised as his own go. In some misguided notion that she’d be better off without him. Shaking his head softly Gibbs knelt down and pulled Tony into his arms.  
  
Tony’s head came to rest in the crook of Gibbs’ neck while his arms ended up loosely wrapped around the former Marine. Gibbs gently rubbed Tony’s back in the hopes it would get a reaction from Tony other than this despondent one.  
  
 _‘I never was any good at all this emotional crap.’_ Gibbs thought as he held Tony in his arms. Eventually Tony begins to talk.  
  
“Thought you’d left.” He says.  
  
“Came out and Kelly’s things were gone. Though it would be easier to deal with if I didn’t see you leave with her stuff.” He mumbles.  
  
 _‘This is nice. I don’t want to move even though I know I’ll have to soon. This will be the only time I’ll ever get to be in Gibbs arms so I’m going to stay as long as I can’_ Tony thinks to himself while he just breathes in Gibbs scent.  
  
“Hell No. I was just putting the bags in the car.” Gibbs says.  
  
“Well now that you have Kelly’s bags you can get out now.” He says as he gets up and heads towards his bedroom.  
  
Gibbs, who has had just about enough of Tony’s pure idiocy and extreme mood swings tonight, stands up and stalks after him. Reaching his hand out he grabs Tony’s wrist and spins him around to face him.  
  
“I’ve had enough of your bullshit DiNozzo.” He says as he pulls Tony in close before crushing his mouth against the younger man’s. With a low moan Tony readily submits to the insistent tongue. Groaning Gibbs pushes Tony up against the wall just outside of his bedroom. Tony loses himself in the kiss and wraps his arms around Gibbs neck and brings one leg up to wrap around Gibbs waist using the wall for leverage and balance.  
  
They break apart for a brief moment to take in some much needed air before resuming kissing again. Tony’s hips are slowly rocking against Gibbs own as their tongues explore every crevice of each other’s mouths and twine together. With a soft groan Gibbs breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against Tony’s.  
  
“Do you get it now? I have no intention of walking out that door unless you are with me. Not gonna let you do a runner DiNozzo. Know you too well. I know that you act like a womanizing Frat boy, but that’s all it is. An act. Not gonna let you just walk out of Kelly’s life either.” He says giving an inscrutable look at Tony.  
  
“Kelly misses you already. She’s already lost one parent and I’ll be damned if I let the man that cared for her and raised her as his own just walk out of her life. Not gonna let her lose another parent Tony.” He says pulling back to look Tony directly in the eye.  
  
“No matter how much I want to ravish you right here, right now against this wall I can’t. We can’t. Kelly’s waiting at home for US. I’ve already packed a bag for you.” He says as he pulls away completely. Slowly Tony’s leg comes back to rest on the floor and his arms hang loosely at his sides.  
  
Tony nodded numbly and they left, locking the apartment up and heading downstairs to get into Gibbs vehicle.  
  
TBC…..  
  
AN: Translations first.  
Bastardo ~ Bastard (that one’s kinda obvious huh?)  
testa di cazzo ~ dickhead  
Ti odio ~ I hate you  
Figlio di puttana ~ You son of a Bitch  
Stronzo ~ asshole (lit. piece of shit)  
Non andare, Papà, ritorna. Perchè mi lasci Papà? Mi dispiace Papà. Ti voglio bene Papà. Per favore...per favore...ritorna. ~ Don’t go Papà, Come Back. Why’d you leave me Papà? I’m sorry Papà. I Love you Papà…Please…please…come back.  
Spanish Translations  
Métetelo por el culo ~ stick it up your ass  
Hijo de puta ~ Son of a Bitch.  
AN2: Okay these are kind of what I had in mind for Tony’s well hidden friend. He probably doesn’t get much use though what with Gibbs being Gibbs and Kelly being there.  
<http://www.tootimid.com/cyber-skin-vibrating-cyber-cock.html>  
<http://www.adameve.com/adult-sex-toys/vibrators/realistic-vibrators/sp-max-vibrating-cock-balls-13254.aspx>  
<http://www.adameve.com/adult-sex-toys/vibrators/realistic-vibrators/sp-mr-just-right-realistic-vibrator-83557.aspx>  
AN3: Okay I know that the Spanish is probably very questionable but to explain I know several people who speak several different dialects of Spanish because they are from different Spanish speaking countries. (Mexico, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Honduras, Cuba and a few other places) so what little Spanish I do know is probably so mixed it’s not even funny.  
Also another thing I should explain. The reason that it might seem Gibbs is moving so fast. Remember that I had to work out a timeline of events for this fic and I ended up having to fit the events of a ten year span into half that time. That’s a lot for Gibbs. NIS, Franks retiring, NCIS name change, His three marriages and divorces, Jenny and the Paris Op, Vance, etc so his moving fast is a result of that. If I can ever figure out how to post the timeline I will that way it’s there for the reference of the readers.  
Also to head off the inevitable…I see Tony as being very multi-faceted. He’s strong, intelligent, funny, insecure, affectionate and quirky. He has a hidden depth to him that isn’t shown often. Most likely his masks are a defense mechanism that are hard to drop, probably due in part to his upbringing. He may seem overly emotional to some and definitely a bit unrealistic in his reactions, but I’ve seen this situation…or one similar I should say. I wonder if anyone has noticed Tony’s sometimes severe and swift shift in moods? Other than me?  



	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony saves Kelly; years later he meets her dad and falls in love with him.

Chapter Three  
  
Back at Gibbs Abby was trying to keep Kelly too busy to notice the time passing and worry about Tony and Gibbs. She didn’t want Kelly to notice it had been several hours since Gibbs had left to track Tony down and bring him back. She was sure that if Kelly did notice it that she’d begin wondering what had happened to them. Abby still wasn’t too sure herself what had happened but she planned to get the full story out of the two men as soon as she could. Thankfully Abby was the only one to hear Gibbs pull into the drive. Getting up she told Kelly to keep coloring and that she’d be right back. She was just going to run out to her car for something quick. As she stepped outside she noticed that Gibbs had managed to bring Tony back. Walking over to Tony she punched him in his arm and told him that he is an idiot for running off and leaving Kelly like he did. Tony’s only response was to mumble something that Abby couldn’t quite make out.  
  
Abby, Tony and Gibbs walked into the house carrying the bags from the truck, sitting them down in the entrance hall. While Abby and Gibbs stepped into the living room Tony just hung back, not sure what he should do now or why he’d let Gibbs drag him here. Kelly looked up when she heard footsteps coming into the room. Smiling Abby told her she’d see her later. She turned to Gibbs and told him he would explain to her later before walking out and as she passed Tony she punched him is his arm again.  
  
“Daddy! You’re back! Did you find Papà?” Kelly asked.  
  
Gibbs smiled and picked Kelly up before walking back into the entrance hall and saying “As a Matter of fact…I did.”  
  
Tony just stood there waiting as Gibbs walked over to him with Kelly. Putting her back down he watched as she raised her arms for Tony to pick her up. He bends down and picks her up into his arms hugging her close and whispering in her ear.  
  
“Mi dispiace piccina. Mi dispiace. Papà was being an idiota but your Daddy found me and set me straight again.”  
  
“Papà?”  
  
“Yes piccina?”  
  
“Papà where am I going to live now that Daddy’s here?” Kelly asked. Before Tony could formulate a reply Gibbs stepped in.  
  
“You and your Papà are staying here.” Gibbs stated while looking directly into Tony’s eyes.  
  
“Yay!!!! That means I can have both of you here and I don’t have to go back and forth like Sally has to, right?” Kelly exclaims before looking to her daddy for the answer.  
  
“Yes that’s what it means sweetheart.” Gibbs tells her smiling at her enthusiasm and joy.  
  
They eat dinner and Tony and Gibbs put Kelly to bed together before going downstairs to talk.  
  
Walking down the stairs Tony goes to sit on the couch while Gibbs goes into the kitchen and grabs two beers.  
  
“Are you sure Gibbs? I mean Kelly has you now so she really doesn’t need me. I shouldn’t have let you bring me back here Gibbs. I should have just kept on driving. I mean Kelly has you why would she want me around now anyway?” Tony says.  
  
“I’m not good enough for her. I was okay while you were in the wind and now that you’re here she won’t want me around…Nobody does after awhile…” he goes on getting even more self-deprecating as he goes on.  
  
“Shut Up Tony and quit being a dense idiot” Gibbs says after delivering a soft headslap to the back of Tony’s head to stop his self-deprecating spiel.  
  
Tony looks at Gibbs and shuts up so Gibbs can talk.  
  
“Tony. You didn’t see Kelly’s expression when she realized you weren’t here. She ran upstairs calling for you. She didn’t stop calling for you. She was upset and kept repeating the same things over and over again. She kept asking me why you had left and I couldn’t give her an answer.” Gibbs began, taking a swig from his beer as he paused for a moment.  
  
“Kelly has already lost one parent she doesn’t need to lose another one, no matter what the circumstances.” He says pulling Tony to him for a brief kiss.  
  
“I’m not going to let you walk out of her life Tony. I’m not letting you walk out of mine either. We will raise Kelly… Together.” Kissing Tony lightly he leans back and pulls the younger man back to lean against him. Tony’s back leaning against his chest and his arms wrapped around Tony’s waist.  
  
“Tony I love you but you can be so frustrating some days. You have been raising Kelly for a long time and yet you were just going to walk out on her. You of all people should know the kind of trauma that can cause.” Gibbs said quietly.  
  
“Yeah I do know, Gibbs. I really am an idiot. I swore to myself when I gained custody of Kelly that I wouldn’t ever be like my own father. I would never be so cavalier with Kelly as he was with me. I would be there for her whenever she needed me and then I did this. Damnit! You didn’t need to come after me Gibbs and yet you did. Why? I mean I’m glad you did now but, you didn’t have to.”  
  
“Tony, I want you in Kelly’s life just as much as she does. I want you in both of our lives. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity to have you in my life slip by me. Even if the circumstances aren’t the best.” He said.  
  
“Tony. How did Kelly survive? Why wasn’t it in the investigation?”  
  
“Huh? It should have been. Like I said earlier I was one of the first detectives on the scene. I was the one that pulled Shannon’s body out. I also reamed the EMS that didn’t do a proper job of checking for a pulse  when I realized Kelly was alive. The case went cold on our end and then was shipped off to NCIS when an anonymous tip led us to find that Shannon and Kelly were listed as dependents of a Marine.” Tony said.  
  
“So why didn’t Mike Franks tell me Kelly was alive? He told me both Shannon and Kelly had been killed.” Gibbs questioned.  
  
“I looked into the case briefly. Someone somewhere didn’t do their jobs properly. Most likely it was my old captain. He always was a lazy ass, I just never realized he was that fucking lazy. Both the official report from Philly and the NCIS list Kelly as being deceased. Though why the investigating agent didn’t dig into will remain a mystery for now.”  
  
“Not for long” Gibbs growled.  
  
“Mike Franks was the investigating officer and I plan to have a few words with him very soon.” He told Tony.  
  
“I want to help as well.” Tony said before continuing “So now what Gibbs? I mean now that we know why you never came for Kelly? I mean…” Tony trailed off as he was silenced by Gibbs lips covering his.  
  
Breaking apart for air Gibbs replies.  
  
“I want you Tony. You raised Kelly for seven years and never complained yet. I want you to remain a part of her life. She’s as much your daughter as she is mine. I’m pretty sure Shannon would agree with me on this. Hell Tony, I’ve wanted you since that day we met in Baltimore. Hired you for Rule number 5 remember. Don’t waste Good. And you are good at what you do. When you told me you were a single father I knew I’d done the right thing by offering you a job. You were resilient enough to raise a child by yourself. Over the past few years though I began to realize that what I was feeling wasn’t simple lust, though I tried to ignore it. I haven’t felt this strongly for someone since Shannon.  I thought you were straight and had a biological daughter. So I contented myself with at least being around you at work.” Here he paused to take a swig of his beer before continuing.  
  
“Hell If I’d known that there was even a small inkling of a chance I’d have ravished you long before this.” He looked into Tony’s eyes as he said this.  
  
Kelly being his daughter might have been realized sooner but he didn’t care. Either way he would have hopefully not only had Kelly back in his life, but Tony in his life as well.  
  
“Gibbs…I…Yeah I’ve wanted you too; for a long time. You're my boss though, so I knew it couldn’t really go anywhere other than simply watching from afar and fantasies. That and I thought you were straight, considering you’ve been divorced three times.” He chuckled lightly at the slight glare he received at the mention of his ex-wives.  
  
“Where do we go from here though Gibbs? I mean I suck at anything long-term. I always manage to screw up somehow.”  
  
“And I’ve been divorced three times Tony. I’m a possessive and jealous bastard. I also don’t say shit I don’t mean and I meant it when I said I loved you and that I want to be with you. I want a relationship with you.” Gibbs said taking another pull from the now half empty beer bottle.  
  
“Not gonna lie and say it’ll be easy DiNozzo. Were both stubborn and we’ve got a lot of things that we need to work through, but we will do it. Not just for Kelly but for us as well. We do have one less hurdle since Kelly is essentially ours anyway.” He says.  
  
“Yeah. Kelly will be ecstatic when she finds out that were together.”  
  
“Why is that?” Gibbs asked. The only response was a slight flush of Tony’s ears and a mumbled response.  
  
“I didn’t understand you Tony.”  
  
“She already knows I like you. Well she didn’t know you were her Daddy but she knows I like my Boss, which would be you. She overheard part of a conversation with one of my frat brothers. She was asleep. It’s why I called Vinnie in the first place.  I knew that if she knew I was calling Vinnie I’d only get to talk to him for about 5 minutes before she demanded the phone. She’s already bossy like you boss.” Tony smiled at Gibbs while he just raised an eyebrow at Tony.  
  
“Vinnie knows I’m more bent then straight. I’ve always been able to talk to him about anything. I also called him after Kelly was asleep because I know how his mind works. He can get pretty graphic when he knows there are no little ears around to hear. I told him about how frustrating you can be. I asked why it was that you can piss me off and make me hotter than hell at the same time. He just laughed at that. Then I told him that you tend to ride my ass harder than anyone else on the team and it sure wasn’t the way I wanted you to. He decided now was the perfect time to let his skewed sense of humor go. He made a remark about getting ridden hard at the work place being kinky. I just told him to shut up.” Here Tony paused to take a long pull from his beer.  
  
“I told him I was falling hard and fast and had no idea on what to do because you were straight and my boss. Kelly made an appearance then and heard me say I liked you. She asked me why I didn’t just ask you out.” Tony chuckled a little.  
  
“Boy was that a question out of left field though I should have expected it. I damn near jumped outta my skin though when she said it. I told Vinnie I’d call him back and hung up before asking her what she was doing awake. She was thirsty. She then proceeded to tell me that I should ask you out and that If I didn’t then she would do it for me! Cheeky brat. Though now that I look back I always just called you Boss, even when I was off the clock. If I had said your name she’d have pointed it out before now then proceeded to tell me that I was silly for not noticing it.” Here he paused and Gibbs said.  
  
“Yeah she always was very smart and inquisitive even as a baby. It seems that at least hasn’t changed.” He said a little wistfully.  
  
“Yeah. I tried to explain to her why I couldn’t ask my boss out. She told me it was a stupid reason and that the rules about not dating people you work with was stupid too. She also said that I wouldn’t know if you like boys too unless I asked and that rules are meant to be broken and they are more like guidelines anyway plus I’d said you were grumpy so maybe having a family would make you less grumpy. She then turned around and went back to bed. I never should have let her watch Pirates of the Caribbean with me.” Tony grumbled before it turned into a snicker.  
  
“I just realized that Kelly’s school is going to be confused as all hell when they find out. I already have you down as the first emergency contact for Kelly and now I’ll have to go in and change it to second primary contact. They are probably going to wonder why you weren’t listed as that in the first place.”  
  
Ya Think?” Gibbs said.  
  
“Yeah, considering her name IS Kelly Gibbs-DiNozzo. That’s going to be an interesting conversation trying to explain the circumstances. They are probably going to end up more confused than anything.”  
  
“Ya think DiNo- Tony?”  
  
Reclining back against the couch just relaxing and basking in being near each other. A thought strikes Tony.  
  
“Mmmm… Boss?”  
  
“Tony, you can call me Jethro when we’re home you know.”  
  
“Okay Bo…Jethro” Tony said slight flush to his cheeks.  
  
“Jethro?”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
How are we going to explain this to HR?”  
  
“Tell em the truth…or at least a partial truth. I made you move in here to make it easier on Kelly. The director will need to know the whole story but HR don’t.”  
  
“What about the Team? Abby? Ducky? What will we tell them?" Tony asked.  
  
“We’ll tell them when we’re damn good and ready to. If they find out before then so be it. Not gonna hide just because some people are idiots”  
  
“Uhhmm…Jethro?”  
  
“Hmm”  
  
“What was Shannon’s mother’s name?”  
  
“Joann why?”  
  
“Huh. Why didn’t she tell you Kelly was alive?”  
  
“What do you mean why didn’t she tell me? She didn’t know either. Plus we never saw eye to eye. She was pissed that I took Shannon and Kelly away from being near her.”  
  
Tony’s eyes widen a bit.  
  
“Jethro the damn woman tried to gain parental custody of Kelly!!” he exclaimed.  
  
“What?!” Gibbs growled.  
  
“Ssshhh, keep your voice down. Don’t want to wake Kelly up. Yes she tried to get parental custody of Kelly shortly before I transferred from Philly to Peoria. Damn abusive bitch that she is. Went to jail because of what she did to Kelly. It’s why I have Parental Custody instead of Full guardianship. She didn’t think I had a chance in Hell of beating her and so didn’t read the fine print. Because she went for Parental Custody and lost it was awarded to me instead which is why Kelly isn’t in the system as an adoptee or foster child. The system in Philly is fucked up beyond belief. I wanted to keep Kelly from getting lost in that system. I have the paperwork at home...” Gibbs' glaring caused him to pause and then backtrack.  
  
“I mean the apartment. I’ll show it to you later.” Tony smiles at Gibbs who pulls him into a kiss.  
  
“I’ll call Tom tomorrow. We’re off rotation until Monday but I have a feeling it’s going to take longer to get you completely settled in.” Gibbs said before pulling Tony into another more heated Kiss.  
  
“We should stop…” he mumbled before capturing Tony’s lips in another kiss.  
  
Breaking apart for air Tony replied “Mmmhmmm…we should…”  before pulling Gibbs into another heated Kiss.  
  
Pulling away with a groan he says “I don’t want to rush this. At least not anymore than we have already.”  
  
“Yeah….” Tony says with a sigh as he turns back to relax with his back against Gibbs chest.  
  
“We should probably head to bed. We have a long weekend ahead of us.” Gibbs says as he looks at his watch noticing how very late it is.  
  
“Yeah…” Tony says reluctantly moving away from the former Marine so he can get up. Tony stayed seated thinking he’d be taking the couch tonight.  
  
“DiNozzo! What the hell are you doing still sitting there?” Gibbs calls impatiently.  
  
“Uhmmm…thought you didn’t want to rush things?”  
  
“I’m not going to. Bed Tony... Now.” Seeing the leer on Tony’s face he cuts him off before he can make a remark about his word choice. “To sleep DiNozzo, nothing more. Not yet at least.” He smirked at Tony who whined in the back of his throat about him being unfair teasing him like that.  
Following Gibbs up the stairs and into the master bedroom Tony and Gibbs got ready for bed before crawling in bed and falling asleep.  
  
 _~*~ Next Morning ~*~_  
  
Tony sighed as he woke up. He felt warm and comfortable, but his bladder was demanding he move now. Slowly opening his eyes he smiled as he realized that Gibbs was awake and running his hands through Tony’s hair.  
  
“Feels Nice” Tony mumbled sleepily while Gibbs just gave a slight laugh.  
  
“C’mon Tony. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us and I’m sure Kelly will probably be up soon anyway.” Gibbs said.  
  
Once their morning routines were complete they headed downstairs where Gibbs proceeded to start the coffee machine and Tony began pulling things out for breakfast.  
  
“Jethro we really need to go grocery shopping. Your fridge is almost as bare as my Aunt’s used to be.”  
  
Gibbs just nodded his head in assent making a mental note to stop off and pick up some things. They both heard the shuffle of little feet as Kelly came into the Kitchen yawning.  
  
“Morning Papà. Morning Daddy.” Kelly mumbled as she sat down at the table. After breakfast was done Tony and Gibbs went their separate ways. Gibbs to call Director Morrow and Tony to help Kelly pick out her clothes so she could get dressed and he could call Dominic and Brian and ask them to help with the heavier furniture.  
  
Once Kelly was ready they climbed into Gibbs truck and headed to Tony’s apartment.  
  
“Jethro, I called some friends of mine to help us load the heavier stuff. They’re going to bring a truck to haul it to your place in. That way we don’t have to spend all weekend moving and we can relax.” Tony said receiving a nod from Gibbs.  
  
Tony smiled as they pulled into the parking lot for his building and he saw that somehow Dom and Brian had managed to beat them here. Then again Dom had a reputation as a racer so Tony wasn’t too surprised.  
  
When Kelly saw who was waiting outside the building she squealed and ran to the two men.  
“Zio ‘Nic, Zio BriBri!!!!”” Kelly screamed before giggling madly as she was swept up in one of the other men’s arms and tossed in the air before being caught.  
  
“Guess What? Guess What? Guess What? We found my Daddy and me and Papà are gonna go live with him!!” she said bouncing up and down on her heels exuberantly.  
  
Tony whom had his hand on Gibbs’ arm, smiled as Kelly began to talk a mile a minute. Exuberantly telling them about school and what had happened and how she’d had to go to work with her Papà and that she finally met Zia Abby and had a blast.  
  
Smiling Tony walked over to the men and pulled the shorter man into a one armed hug asking him how he’d been. He then turned to the taller man and did the same with him. Turning to Gibbs he introduced the men.  
  
“Jethro I want you to meet a couple of my frat brothers. This is Dominic” he said pointing at the taller of the two men, “and this is Brian.” He finished as he waved his hand towards Brian.  
  
“Guys this is Gibbs, Yes, that Gibbs Brian.” Tony said when the shorter of the two shot Tony a look.  
Gibbs gave a slight nod to the two men, a tight look in his eyes. The taller of the men, Dominic, had an arm slung around Tony’s shoulders in a too friendly gesture.  
  
“Jake is gonna drop the truck off in an hour and take the Subaru back to the shop” Gibbs heard Brian say as they all walked up to Tony’s apartment.  
  
Unlocking his apartment door Tony let the other three men and Kelly in before following behind. They began packing Kelly’s room first. Tony grabbed the totes that he always used when moving. He kept them stacked in the back of his closet just in case. Walking back down the hall to Kelly’s room he sat the totes on the floor before taking the remaining ones and placing them in various rooms.  
  
Most people wouldn’t think he was very organized but he was. Purple totes for Kelly’s room and her belongings, Blue for his bedroom and belongings, Gray for DVD’s, Green for the Kitchen, clear for the living room, black for the bathroom, and yellow for the miscellaneous items such as knick knacks, photo albums, framed pictures, and the various other things that had no real set area. The various holiday decorations where in totes that had very identifiable themes.  
  
Moving into the living room Tony began to pack up his DVD’s and other various equipment; into the totes. Gibbs was helping Kelly with her room and Dom and Brian were in the Kitchen packing up. Smiling when he heard the knock at the door he yelled out to the person on the other side.  
  
“Come on in Jake! The door’s open!” and laughed at the pole-axed expression on the other man’s face. He just laughed harder when he heard the mumbled “how does he always know when it’s me…” as he walked past him and into the Kitchen where Dom and Brian were.  
  
Several hours later most of the apartment had been packed up. The whole time Gibbs had been in a foul mood. Kelly didn’t notice but Tony sure as hell had. He had also noticed that whenever Gibbs caught him talking with Dominic or Brian his mood seemed to become insufferable. He’d made sure they didn’t pack the coffeemaker up until the last possible second knowing that Gibbs was a bastard with coffee but without it he was even worse so he’d made sure to keep a fresh supply of coffee in the pot for Gibbs. Finally he got sick of the older man’s attitude and while Dom, Brian and Kelly were out of the apartment he pulled Gibbs into the bathroom with him.  
  
“What the Hell is your problem Gibbs?!?”  
  
“…..”  
  
“Every damn time I talk to Dom and Brian you get all fucking growly. What the hell?”  
  
Gibbs just kept silent while Tony glowered at him.  
  
“You…You’re Jealous!!!! Aren’t you?” Tony crowed  
  
“I’m not jealous DiNozzo.” Gibbs all but growled at him.  
  
“You are! Gibbs they’re friends from college! That’s all.” Tony said.  
  
Gibbs raised an eyebrow at Tony before saying “They sure don’t act like they are just your friends…especially the taller one.” Gibbs grumbled.  
  
“Dominic? What are you…oh, that…” Tony paused a chuckle escaping him before he continued “Jethro, Dom is already in a committed relationship, with Brian.” Tony shook his head letting that sink into Gibbs mind.  
  
Gibbs just growled at Tony before pinning him against the door.  
  
“And you couldn’t have told me this BEFORE we got here?” he growled into Tony’s ear before nipping it lightly.  
  
Tony gave a soft gasp and said breathily “Jethro…Don’t…don’t start something we can’t finish.”  
  
Gasping in pleasure Tony whimpered as Gibbs moved one of his hands, which had been wrapped around Tony’s waist, around to cup Tony’s awakening cock through his jeans. Groaning Tony grabbed Gibbs head and pulled him into a deep kiss. Breaking apart and gasping slightly Tony groaned again.  
  
“Fuck…Gibbs…Damn it” he growled as they heard footsteps and then Kelly’s voice call out wondering where they were. Pushing Gibbs away he groaned and said, “Fuck if I’d have known getting you jealous would get this kind of reaction I’d have made you jealous a long time ago” before he straightened his clothes out the best he could and slipped out of the bathroom and back to Kelly’s room where she was laughing at Brian.  
  
When Gibbs joined them a moment later he shot Tony a heated look that had him shivering slightly in anticipation. As the day wore on and they got Gibbs’ truck, Tony’s car, and the large moving truck that Dominic owned loaded up with everything Kelly and Tony owned Tony sighed.  Now to go…home…and unload it all. Thankfully him and Gibbs had taken some time to figure out what would stay and what would go into storage to be taken care of later while Dom and Brian had gone to get lunch for them all. He hadn’t realized the amount of stuff that he seemed to have accumulated since he began working at NCIS.  
  
Thankfully it didn’t take as long to unload everything as it had to pack and load it. They could unpack everything and put it where it went tomorrow. Kelly was already asleep on the couch so Tony picked her up and carried her to her bedroom laying her down and brushing her bangs from her forehead before placing a light kiss there whispering Goodnight into her ear and heading for bed with a tired Gibbs following shortly afterwards.  
  
TBC…  
AN: Translations first.  
Mi dispiace piccina ~ I’m sorry little one.  
Piccina is sort of like Tony’s nickname for Kelly.  
Oh and...as to the comment about Philly's Children and Youth being "fucked up" It is. The system is in need of some seriously stricter rules and regs there. The reason I Know? Semi-personal experience with family that lived there. Being born and raised in Pennsylvania does have its upsides :D Though I am going to try and steer clear of actuallly mentioning Stillwater other than in passing...that is a subject I could rant about forever...creative liscensing at it's best(or worst I haven't decided yet) But on Another note  
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! (to those that celebrate it...) I could make a bad joke...but I'll refrain from unleashing my crude, Pervy, and sometimes stupid (but definitely skewed) sense of humor on ya'll(another bad habit...you all just looks fucking wierd...Blame my sister...As I am on the phone with her as I post...Posting now :D


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
Damn the weekend had flown by so damn fast! Thankfully due to the nature of the unforeseen circumstances the Director had seen fit to give them until the following Monday to get things worked out before being called back in to work. McGee and Kate weren’t so lucky. With both Gibbs AND Tony out of the office they were stuck working Cold Cases with another team. Their tongues would definitely be wagging by the end of the first day and the Rumor Mill would definitely see an increase in juicy gossip. Especially once HR got wind of the change.  
  
Tony smiled as he thought of what Kate’s reaction to his and Gibbs…revelations…would be. Oh they had no intentions of out and out telling everyone but if asked they wouldn’t lie either; at least, not to their friends/co-workers/family. Everyone else could go jump off a bridge for all they cared.  
  
He’d called Kelly’s school this morning and informed them she would be out until Wednesday…maybe even the whole week, due to a family emergency. She would definitely be back to school the following Monday though. Gibbs and Tony had already talked about keeping her home so that Jethro could be filled in on everything he’d missed so far in her life.  
  
Walking back into the house from his car carrying two totes Tony smiled at the look on Gibbs face. The last time he’d carried two totes this color in they had held an assortment of drinks and drink mixes. Gibbs hadn’t been too Happy once he’d found out what was in the unlabeled bottles…  
  
 _%Flashback%_  
  
 _They’d gotten most of the larger things situated and sorted and placed earlier. Tony’s large TV in the living room along with his sectional sofa and chair set. They’d kept Gibbs coffee table because it had, oddly enough, fit better with the new living room suite than the one that had come with the set. They had placed the other one in the attic for now.  
  
They had kept Gibbs Dining Room set because it had more room, but they had replaced the one that was in the kitchen with Tony’s set. Tony’s bedroom suite had been dismantled and placed in the attic for now, the only thing that remained had been his mattress, which they had used to replace Gibbs old mattress in the master bedroom. Kelly’s clothes had been gone through and all of the stuff that she didn’t fit had gone into boxes to be taken to Goodwill later.  
  
They had moved on to the kitchen by this point. They had put Kelly to bed and Tony had just come down from the attic, after storing the empty totes there, to see Gibbs unpacking the last two totes that belonged in the Kitchen.  
  
He just stood in the doorway watching as Kool-Aid pouches, canisters, teabags, and coffee were pulled out by Gibbs before being placed in the cupboard. Gibbs had just turned around and grabbed an unlabeled bottle and had turned back to place the two bottles in the cupboard when he paused, he’d noticed they weren’t labeled.  
  
Tony was having a hard time keeping a straight face. He knew what was in those bottles. They had been part of a Christmas package that his Aunt had sent him last year; several certificates to some of Tony’s favourite clothing stores, and a lengthy letter were also a part of the package.  
Kelly’s package contained two bottles of homemade berry punch, a new pair of hiking boots, and a new subscription to one of the few car magazines (that didn’t feature half naked women), and certificates for several clothing stores and toy stores. His Zia said Kelly grew like a damn weed so instead of getting her something that didn’t fit she gave her certificates.  
  
He was still wondering whether or not it was a good idea to let her read that magazine subscription. Knowing his luck she’d ask for an RC car for her birthday. His aunt was an enabler and he really shouldn’t encourage her. Thankfully she hadn’t mentioned taking Kelly hunting…yet. She always brought him venison when she bagged herself a deer so he knew Kelly had no problems with eating it.  
  
“Tony? What the hell is this?” Gibbs had asked.  
  
“Open it and find out.” He replied, a slight smirk on his face. He’d just barely managed not to bust out laughing when Gibbs not only opened the bottle but took a slug from it as well, after smelling it to make sure it wasn’t something completely disgusting that is.  
  
Watching as Gibbs capped the bottle and turned to Tony with a glare had Tony fidgeting a little.  
  
“What the hell is alcohol, unlabeled alcohol, doing in easy reach of Kelly?” Gibbs had said.  
  
“Hey! It’s not within easy reach of her. I kept all of my alcoholic drinks in that locked cabinet unless they were in the fridge. Kelly knows not to touch anything that is alcoholic, not that I ever kept much of it around to begin with. Those two bottles, the two bottles of wine and a few assorted varieties of alcohol that I use for cooking are about what I have all the time. Maybe a 6 pack that ends up getting pushed to the back of the fridge on occasion but that’s it.” Tony said. He didn’t keep a whole lot of consumable alcohol for the simple reason that he wasn’t going to let himself become an alcoholic like his father.  
  
Yeah he cooked with the stuff but the alcoholic content had pretty much evaporated by the time he was done…only the subtle flavor remained.  
  
“What is this stuff then? Why was it in a cold storage box?” Gibbs asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
“It’s home-made Apple Pie. My Aunt Anna makes it and sends me a bottle or two from her newest batch for Christmas. It’s to be kept cold for freshness; which is why it’s in the box. I keep it in that box in the fridge. She always sends Kelly some Berry Punch or preserves for Christmas as well. She owns several acres of land and is always sending me things, whether it be fresh picked sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, plums, pears, apples, zucchini, eggplant, or some sort of venison; usually Jerky, bologna and Venison Steaks or Venison Burger.” Tony shrugged lightly. He’d long since gotten used to his eccentric aunt.  
  
“I though you didn’t associate with your family?” Gibbs asked quietly as he placed the cold storage box in the fridge.  
  
“I don’t. Neither does Aunt Anna. She has never seen eye to eye with the family, came to blows with my father a few times and cut ties permanently once I was 18.” He shrugged. His Aunt was the only good one in the whole bunch as far as he was concerned. He chuckled at the glint in Gibbs eyes. Oh if only Gibbs knew. Maybe he’d have to invite Zia over so she could meet Gibbs. They’d get along wonderfully, he thought._  
  
 _%End Flashback%_  
  
Smiling at Gibbs he reassured him that this was only Photo Albums of Kelly.  
  
As he walked into the living room and set the totes down he wondered at what Gibbs reaction would be to seeing his Aunt. Opening the first tote he began pulling out photo albums. Gibbs had sat down next to him when running feet could be heard.  
  
“Don’t run in the house.” Tony said to Kelly as she came skidding into the living room.  
  
“Sorry Papà.” Kelly said before squirming her way in-between Tony and Gibbs causing both men to chuckle.  
  
Leaning back he placed the first album down on Kelly’s lap before opening it. As he explained what each picture was and when it had been taken Tony smiled. Shooting a look at Gibbs he saw how happy the man was. He had one arm wrapped around Tony and Kelly, his hand resting lightly on the photo album, his eyes taking in the moments that Tony had captured on Film.  
  
As they went through Kelly’s life captured on Film Tony explained each one. Kelly’s birthdays, Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas, memorial day, the fourth of July, and other holidays; vacations or just small moments that he had captured on film and placed in the albums.  
  
Some of the pictures were absolutely embarrassing for him though. Usually pictures someone else had caught on film and given to him, moments that had him laughing and reminiscing about the events surrounding the pictures or just plain wanting to hide his face.  
  
There were pictures of Kelly sitting on a toolbox with a plastic screwdriver in her hand. He’d forgotten those were in there. The next one depicted Kelly with a grease smudge on her cheek laughing as she was swung around by Dom with a laughing Tony in the background.  
  
Several candid shots of Kelly looking in to a car’s engine as Brian pointed something out to her. Kelly was sitting on a pony at a fair. Kelly laughing as she rode some ride, jumping up and down as she was handed a huge brown teddy bear, holding a bag with two tiny goldfish swimming around in it. There were pictures of Kelly at a Zoo. She was standing in front of the alligator exhibit waving, a picture of her with a Huge Boa constrictor wrapped around her, her feeding a small monkey with the zookeeper keeping an eye on her and the monkey, there were some with her petting a beautiful wolf cub that had lost its mother.  
  
Eventually they came upon the one that contained pictures of a vacation they had taken to visit Tony’s aunt. There were pictures of him and Kelly in the pool.  
  
Kelly was sitting on a black and silver motorcycle that was parked in the garage and one of her laughing as she clung to the handlebars while a dark haired woman pushed the bike out of the garage and into the sun.  
  
There was a photo of Kelly laughing as she sat on a chestnut colored horse with Tony behind her. Kelly and Tony riding side by side as they cantered along a dirt path.  
  
There were a few candid shots of Kelly holding something up in the woods, a fireman’s boot, a really old headlight, a pretty river stone, some quartz, and of her and Tony laughing as he carried her on his shoulders.  
  
Tony knew Gibbs would enjoy the next ones. He remembered this day well because Kelly had nearly given him a heart attack that day. Smiling he watched as they turned the page. The first pictures were of Kelly standing in front of an old house, then of her tugging on his hand and trying to drag him into this house. Then several pictures of Kelly in various areas of the house, then one of him with a panicked look on his face, then of him standing in a doorway and Kelly was visible in the room sitting on what had at one point been a small boat laughing. The next one was of Kelly sitting in front of his aunt as she helped Kelly to maneuver the small boat’s motor. The next one had Kelly leaning over the edge then Tony’s hand grabbing her and then suddenly he’s in the water glaring at the camera and a picture of Kelly laughing.  
  
The album ended with Kelly in front of a bonfire roasting marshmallows with Tony’s help and a picture of Kelly, Tony, and his aunt standing in front of the bonfire and laughing. Closing that album Tony grabbed the next one, which happened to be the one of their Florida Vacation. Smiling he knew Gibbs would get a kick out of some of the pictures in there.  
  
Opening it he set the album on Kelly’s lap and let her explain the pictures, with a little input from him every now and then. The first picture was of a sun rising on the beach, Kelly had taken that one. Turning the page Tony had to hold in a chuckle at the look on Gibbs face, it was worried, shocked, proud and dismayed all in one. Kelly was sitting on the edge of a large plexi-glass tank and petting a small shark, a baby which is the only reason he’d let Kelly do so. The next several pictures showed Kelly feeding some dolphins and laughing as one of the handlers helped her into the tank as Brian slipped in beside her so they could swim with the dolphins. The handler had showed Kelly how to signal to the dolphins for them to perform different acts or stunts. That had been a highlight of Kelly’s day. It was one of the many exciting things that Vinnie had managed to wrangle for Kelly and the rest of them. For a bunch of guys to have fun like that it had to have been hilarious to see.  
  
As they progressed through the album Tony had to laugh. Looking back at some of the stunts him and his buddies had pulled to make Kelly laugh he seriously had to wonder what had been going through their heads. There were pictures of Kelly clapping and laughing as a handler had a small Killer Whale come up and splash Kelly. Kelly laughing as Vinnie poked at a seemingly sleeping otter only for it to smack him with its tail before moving away, getting Vinnie wet in the process. Kelly had gotten close to a Galapagos tortoise and was having a ball walking next to it.  
  
Dom and Brian had taken her into the shark enclosure because Tony had needed to get more film since the roll he was using was almost out. Kelly sat on Dom’s shoulder as she pointed at some of the different species of sharks. They’d been halfway through the enclosure with the tentacle creatures like squid and octopus and jellyfish by the time Tony had caught up to them. They had gone on to see the manatees, sting rays, and other assorted sea creatures before leaving and heading to the next stop.  
  
There were pictures of Kelly with Steve, who Kate was currently dating, Vinnie, Bobbie, Dom and Brian as well as a good portion of pictures of Just Kelly or Kelly and Tony; pictures of Kelly screaming and laughing as they rode several rides, pictures of her standing in front of a T-Rex skeleton, Raptor Skeletons, Ancient Egyptian artifacts, sitting on a Wooly Mammoth replica and standing in front of several other different historical artifacts and objects.  
  
The ones of them on the beach, Tony covered in sand because he’d fallen asleep sunbathing and Dom, Vinnie and Brian had decided to ‘bury’ him and had enlisted Kelly’s help, at least according to them. He thinks it may have been the other way around. They had played volleyball taking turns on whose team Kelly was on, often times she’d be on either his, Vinnie, Dom, or Brian’s shoulders to serve the ball. They had built a huge sandcastle and Kelly had decided she was the queen of it and had made a makeshift crown out of paper machete and construction paper.  
They had gone looking for seashells with Brian and had instead come back with two buckets full of seashells, sea glass, some starfish and coral and a lot of sand. They had sat down later and discarded the things like driftwood, broken shells, and the occasional piece of normal glass.  
It had been a fun packed week for all of them and Kelly.  
  
Once they had finished with that album Tony picked up the next one and set it down in Kelly’s lap before getting up to start dinner. Once that was done he went back to re-living Kelly’s life through the photographs. Once they had finished with the albums and then eaten dinner and put Kelly to bed him and Gibbs had sat down on the couch relaxing and talking about Kelly’s life. Her likes and dislikes, her favourite activities, her dislike of most things girly. Gibbs had even asked what Kelly had said meant. Tony had to take a deep breath as what she had said hit him hard. It would explain why Kelly had been clingier than normal and why she didn’t seem to want him out of eyesight for too long. He had already beaten himself up for leaving let alone thinking it was what was best for Kelly. Gibbs was right, he was an idiot sometimes.  
  
As they just sat there in silence while Tony got a handle on his still slightly frayed emotions Gibbs though back on the day and everything he had learned. Tony smiled slightly when Gibbs asked him about certain events or pictures. Filling Gibbs in on the different adventures that Kelly had had and what he had missed in her life made him smile as he thought back to those precious moments in time. Eventually they headed to bed.  
  
Tony had called Kelly off school for the week so she could spend some time with her dad but also so they could get into a routine of sorts, especially since both him and Gibbs would be back at work soon. They also needed to give Abby some sort of explanation as to what was going on. That was certain to be an…interesting…conversation. Not to mention how to explain Gibbs’ sudden interest in taking vacation and Tony’s taking one at the same time without it sounding like something out of a damn soap opera. Though really, it was something you would probably see on one but shit happens.  
  
Tony had quickly become accustomed to waking up with Gibbs’ arm wrapped around him or him wrapped around the older man. He’d also become quite accustomed to seeing Gibbs and Kelly work on the boat, though there was a distinct lack of bourbon which, while odd was definitely a refreshing change for them both. Somehow both Kelly and Gibbs had managed to get him to help sand the boat, it was probably Kelly’s puppy eyes and Gibbs subtle but there smile. Another thing that Tony quickly became accustomed to, Gibbs’ smiles. The man was positively stunning when he actually smiled, it was no wonder that his ex-wives had fallen for him. Tony found himself falling for him all over again, Kelly always seemed to know when to make Gibbs smile and how, something Tony was learning as well. It would be strange seeing Bastard Gibbs make an appearance once they were back at work.  
  
He should have seen it coming, they both should have but they hadn’t. As the weekend rolled around and their return to work and Kelly’s return to school drew closer, Kelly became clingier. They had gone to the Jeffersonian and Tony had gone to get something for them to eat, while Gibbs and Kelly finished walking around the exhibit on Ancient Peru, and when they had met back up Kelly had clung to him the rest of the time. He hadn’t cared at the time but he should have known that things wouldn’t stay as calm. That night him and Gibbs had been awoken to Kelly’s screams, they’d rushed to her room to find her crying and Tony had immediately sat down on her bed to calm her down. They’d managed to get Kelly to fall back to sleep and had gone back to bed.  
Sunday drew to a close and after having a barbeque they had gone inside and relaxed, watching a movie with Kelly. That night Kelly had another nightmare and come Monday morning she didn’t want to go to school. She wanted to stay with Tony and she couldn’t. In the end they had managed to convince her to go, they’d had to drop her off and rush to the office because they were running late. That had definitely caused more rumours because they had driven in together in Gibbs’ vehicle.  
  
After being at work for a couple of hours Gibbs was going to be on his fourth coffee run of the day. Simply because he was tired of listening to the endless conversations about why Tony and himself came to work together, or why all of a sudden they have the same address. And that’s just the ones not about Kelly.  
  
Just when he was about to enter the elevator a woman with dirty blonde hair and blue-green eyes stepped out looking like she’s completely frazzled or running away from a bad situation. She sees Gibbs right in front of her and collapses. Gibbs catches her just in time.  
  
Cradling her in his arms he says “DiNozzo get Ducky quick.”  
  
TBC…  
  
AN: Yes I am Evil. 50%Angel 50%Devil  
and yes Apple Pie is a real alcoholic drink but it's not something available over the counter at your local beer distributor or a wine and spirits store :) ;)  



	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Tony picked up the phone and dialed Ducky’s extension, telling him Gibbs wants him in the Bullpen ASAP cause a woman just collapsed there. Not a few minutes later Ducky appeared with his black bag.

“Good Lord Jethro, she looks like she’s been through the wringer! What happened?”

“I don’t know Duck, I was heading out for a coffee and she stepped off the elevator and just collapsed. She looked like she was running from something, her eyes kept darting every which way.” Gibbs replied to the Medical Examiner.

Once he had completed his assessment he pulled out some smelling salts to awaken the woman. Once she began to awake he calmly told her to relax, that she had collapsed and she needed to wait a few minutes before moving.

Once Ducky said it was safe for her to move Tony helped her to stand and walked her into the conference room for more privacy. Gibbs and Ducky were talking in hushed tones about something.

“Can I get you anything miss?” Tony asked startled when her heard a quiet voice answer him.

“Tea? If you have it? Please?”  the woman asked.

“Sure” he said pouring her a cup of tea and getting a soft thank you in return. Sitting down in the chair next to her he asked her what her name was.

“Wanda, My name is WandaSmith.”

“Okay MissSmith...”

“Wanda. Just Wanda, please?”

“Okay then, Wanda. I’m Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. Will you tell me what brought you here? To NCIS I mean.” Tony queried.

“I…Several years ago I married a man named EarlSmith and not long after we got married he started beating me. I filed for divorce but he walked right through the restraining order and put me into Intensive Care. My best friend MaryAnn flew up from Atlanta and sat with me. By the time I was released Earl had disappeared. Me and MaryAnn started selling jam and things but then she disappeared. A few days ago I’d gone into town and ran into Earl’s brother there. He blames me for his disappearance.” Here she paused to take a sip of her drink and organize her thoughts.

“No-one really cares that he’s missing so his brother blames me. Anyway, he tried to strangle me, pulled me into a small alleyway when someone, a marine who was just passing through, heard me and literally saved my life. Clint, that’s Earl’s brother, shot him and took off. The guy died before the ambulance got there. He told me to come here and that you would catch Clint and that I’d be safe here. I know Clint followed me at least part of the way. I saw him on one of the buses I took and managed to trick him into thinking I got off at another stop.” Wanda stopped and took a shaky breath. She didn’t know whether or not to tell this man about what she and MaryAnn had done. Taking another deep breath she was about to continue when the door opened and the two men she had spoken with earlier came in.

“Wanda, This is my boss Special Agent Gibbs and our Medical Examiner Doctor Mallard” Tony said.

“Ducky, my dear, just call me Ducky.”

“Okay.” Wanda giggled a little at the ME.

“DiNozzo. What do we have?”

“Dead Marine, boss. Killed by Wanda’s ex-brother-in-law, for defending her against ClintSmith who blames her for his brother’s disappearance, even if the bastard should’ve been shot.” Tony remarked

“Explain.”

“Earl, used to beat the shit outta me. It started shortly after we got married, then when I filed for divorce and got a restraining order he put me in the hospital. My friend Marianne flew from Atlanta to be with me. When I got out he was gone. Ain’t heard from him since. Divorce went through cause he was presumed dead.” Wanda explained hurriedly before Tony could.

Nodding Gibbs stepped out, going to speak with the director. When he came back he told her that she was being placed into protective custody and that the marine’s body was already on its way to Ducky’s morgue.  He also said that she would need to provide a sketch of Clint so they could put an APB out on him. Wanda told them that Clint had done time. That he had been in prison since a few days before her and Earl got married. She didn’t even know they’d released him. Nodding Tony took Wanda down to Abby’s lab to have a sketch done while McGee tried to find their suspect’s rap sheet and any other pertinent information.

When Tony returned back to the bullpen he placed a call to the local sheriff’s office where Wanda lived. After getting the information on not only Earl, who also had a rap sheet, and also getting their take on what had happened to Earl.

When Tony found out that when Earl put Wanda in intensive care after violating the restraining order her friend from High School, MaryAnn, came up from Atlanta and when his boys had gone to arrest Earl he’d disappeared, some suspected he’d run off while other’s thought he’d met a far more…darker…end, though there’s no proof let alone anyone that really cared anymore.

He also learned that after Earl had gone and disappeared; Wanda and MaryAnn became lovers. At least everyone suspected they had…when MaryAnn disappeared as well some folk began to suspect that maybe Wanda was the reason. Although no one would say that aloud. Especially since Wanda and MaryAnn were best friends.

After hanging up with the sheriff Tony let Gibbs know what he’d found out so far before being told to escort Wanda Smith to the people who would be protecting her and make sure Abby sent the picture up to McGee so they could put a BOLO out for Clint Smith.

In the meantime miles away a woman was pacing back and forth in her office. She couldn’t believe that Wanda was in D.C. And that her own protective custody might be in jeopardy. It could also be a career ender if the truth ever got out. Hopefully that son of a bitch Clint was caught BEFORE anyone dug up the well hidden information on her and her involvement.

‘I wish I could have brought her with me when I was placed into Witness Protection. Once things have settled down I will go back to her. Hopefully I can salvage what is left of our friendship.’ the woman thought as she sat down and began to reminisce on the Good Times she’d had. Getting that phone call that her best friend was in ICU had changed a lot between her and Wanda.

‘If I’d have known that bastard had a brother I’d have shot his ass before he went after Wanda.’ She thought as she began to work on the never ending paperwork.

~Some Unknown Location~

‘Dammitall, that little whore done did gave me the damned slip. I’ll find her. And when I do that damn bitch will get what’s comin’ ta her.’ A scruffy looking man thought as he walked down a deserted highway.

~ D.C. ----> N.C.I.S ~

With Wanda safely ensconced in a safe house just outside the city limits Tony and McGee continued to find any information on WandaSmith, ClintSmith and EarlSmith. Wanda hadn’t given them a last name for MaryAnn so they’d had to go through the yearbook and find it. MaryAnnJones. She’d been working in Atlanta at a Museum when she’d flown to Tennessee when Wanda had been hospitalized. They also found a deed to some land in both her and Wanda’s names as well as some permits for a business; but after that nothing else.

Tony looked at the clock and swore softly. They needed to get going so they could get Kelly from school otherwise they’d be late.

Standing he motioned to Gibbs that he was leaving. Gibbs stood up, told Kate and McGee to keep looking and to go home by 1800 hours and to be back in the office by 0900 hours, and headed towards the elevators where Tony was waiting.

Once they got on and were definitely out of earshot Kate stood up, walked over to McGee and began to talk.

“What do you think is going on with Gibbs and Tony?” Kate asked

“I don’t know. I do know that Tony updated some of his forms and his address is the same as Gibbs’.” McGee replied while continuing to type.

“Did you know Tony had a daughter?”

“No. I don’t think anyone knew. Well except maybe HR because it’s listed in his file.”

“How do you know it’s listed in his file?” Kate asked.

“Uhmm…Well…You know…I uh…I just…I kinda…hackedintoHRtoseehisfile.” McGee said, more like stuttered almost incoherently.

Kate just looked at him with wide eyes and asked what else he’d found. When his reply was nothing other than there was no mother listed for Tony’s daughter, whose name was listed as being Kelly G. DiNozzo, and that he did have a will in place and that his lawyer was listed as one of three immediate contact persons should Tony be killed.

Hearing the elevator ding Kate quickly walked back to her desk in case it was Gibbs coming back. She needn’t have worried; it was only Abby coming up to talk.

Meanwhile Tony and Gibbs were on their way to get Kelly. Gibbs was at the wheel so that they weren’t late. Once arriving at the school Tony and Gibbs got out of the car and waited for the bell to ring and the children to come running out to meet their parents or to walk home, for those that lived close enough to do so and whose parents let them.

While they waited they talked quietly about the case and what trouble it could bring. The fact that MaryAnn looked like someone he knew but he couldn’t quite place who it was, was driving both of them a little crazy.

When Kelly came running out and jumped into Tony’s arms he laughed asking her how her day was.

“It was okay Papà. I missed you though.” She said.

“Oh. Mr.Muten and Mrs.Young want to talk to you and Daddy.” Kelly said suddenly remembering that she was supposed to tell her Papà and Daddy that.

Nodding Tony looked to Gibbs who shrugged and they walked around and into the school Office to speak with the secretary and let her know that Today was their only day available to speak with the Principal and Kelly’s teacher.

Once everyone was present and had been seated in the Principals office Mr.Muten began.

“Mr.DiNozzo some things have been brought to my attention recently and they are cause for concern. You have changed your address recently, placed another person as the secondary primary contact and also Kelly’s behavior recently as well.” The principal spoke.

“Yes. Our address has changed. We moved recently. More specifically we’ve moved into her Dad’s house with him which also explains the change to no secondary contact to having one as well.” Tony said a slight frown on his face.

“Yes, that is what is a little, disconcerting, not to mention very unorthodox. You are listed as her father and yet you just said her dad, referring not to yourself”

“Yes. It is a very convoluted tale that basically boils down to Kelly being mine through adoption and Jethro’s by birth. The details are very convoluted and involve classified information. All you need to know is that her dad was only recently found and re-united with Kelly and instead of trying to negotiate some sort of visitation system, because her dad and I work together we decided it would be better for Kelly if we both just moved in with him instead. If you have a problem with that then I suggest you let us know now.” Tony said, his eyes spitting fire while his voice was deceptively calm and cool.

Gibbs placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder to keep him grounded and from getting up and punching the principal in the face before speaking himself.

“Mr.MutenTony and Myself are Federal Agents working for a quasi-military agency, NCIS. If you have a problem with the fact that Tony and myself live together and are raising Kelly then I want to know now so that I can contact the Director and have him look into this matter. I’m sure that once it got out that you were being investigated by NCIS there would be many problems for you.” Gibbs stated with a hard look at the principal.

“Mr…?”

“Gibbs.”

“Mr.Gibbs. I didn’t mean to offend. I was just concerned because of the unusual circumstances. We were unaware of the special circumstances that surrounded Kelly’s life let alone that Kelly wasn’t Mr.DiNozzo’s biological child. Especially with the way Kelly has been acting recently.” Mr.Muten said apologetically.

“And just how has she been acting?” Tony asked.

“She has been getting into skirmishes with older students recently, the most recent one resulted in her being knocked out. Mostly those skirmishes are over some of the younger students.” Mrs.Young jumped in.

“It’s one specific group of boys in the 4th grade. We’ve been unable to do anything because by the time the teachers realize something is wrong it has broken up.” Mrs.Young continued.

Looking to their daughter Gibbs raised an eyebrow in question.

“They keep picking on other kids.” Kelly said defiantly.

“So you decided to take matters into your own hands.” Tony said flatly.

“Yes, Papà. The teachers won’t do anything and their picking on kids in Kindergarten and 1st grade. They are bullies and I don’t like them.” Kelly defended.

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other before speaking at the same time.

“She takes after you Jethro.”

“She takes after you Tony.”

Chuckling at the two men Mrs.Young continued.

“She may take after both of you but her actions have caused several parents to complain. More specifically the parents of the group of boys she has been thoroughly embarrassing. The teachers should be doing something and I plan to look into why nothing has been done about these boys myself.”

“I also plan to dig into this matter. We don’t tolerate bullies and knowing the story behind Kelly’s actions doesn’t absolve her of the blame. She has been fighting, even if it is to protect those younger than her, and there needs to be some sort of consequences.” Mr.Muten said.

Kelly pouted at that. She wasn’t in the wrong! Those stupid boys were.

“Kelly is a smart girl. Well advanced for her age group.” Here the principal paused.

“Since Kelly has already shown a fondness for children younger than her and a distinct aversion for most kids her age. Her punishment will be to help the teachers for kindergarten and 1st grade.”

Kelly’s head shot up and the smile on her face was positively glowing. She loved learning but she loved to teach too. She already knew she wanted to be a teacher when she got older.

Tony and Gibbs just smiled. Tony knew that Kelly wanted to be a teacher, whether that would remain the same or change as she got older remained to be seen but at least for now her ‘’punishment‘’ was more of a reward for her.

Smiling at them Kelly’s teacher Mrs.Young hated to have to break the happy mood in the room.

“Mr.DiNozzo. Kelly has also been very fidgety today. She kept staring out the window and muttering under her breath. Normally I wouldn’t be concerned but it was the way she looked when she did so.” She stated.

Tony paled slightly and looked to Gibbs for help. He nodded minutely towards the door and Tony nodded back before getting up and taking Kelly’s hand.

“Come on piccina let’s go get the car ready while your daddy finishes up with your teacher.” He said as they walked towards the door.

Once Gibbs knew Kelly and Tony were out of earshot his face hardened slightly as his gaze swung around to the two in the room. Speaking softly but deadly he told them not to bring this subject up ever again, especially not to Kelly. He told them that things had been hectic because of some very mixed information and things were still a little shaky because of that. All they needed to know was that things had been resolved but Kelly would probably still have a slightly rough time because of it. He turned and walked out leaving the two stunned at his abruptness and cryptic speech.

Once they arrived home Tony went straight to the bedroom to change while Gibbs got Kelly started on her homework, not that there was much. Walking upstairs he found Tony standing there in the middle of the bedroom with a slightly lost look on his face. Walking up behind him he wrapped his arms around the younger man and whispered into his ear, which caused Tony to let out a small chuckle and turn his head to look at Gibbs.

“Thank You, Jethro.” He said before kissing him lightly on the lips and walking into the bathroom to shower and change. Smiling slightly Gibbs walked back downstairs to find Kelly munching on what looked suspiciously like green pepper strips while working on some math homework.

He figured he’d get a start on dinner so that Tony would have a little time to relax after the stressful day. Pulling the steaks he’d placed in the fridge to thaw out he went outside and fired up the grill. Back in the kitchen he had to hide a snicker as Tony walked in, ruffled Kelly’s hair and snatched a green strip from the small plate that sat in front of her.

Kelly’s exclamation of “Papà!” and her pouting had Tony chuckling while Gibbs shook his head at their antics. Sometimes Tony acted like a big Kid himself.

The rest of the week seemed to go along a similar vein as Monday had, minus the talk after school. No more information on ClintSmith and nothing on the BOLO’s.

They’d had three call outs to local crime scenes. The first had been a female Petty Officer that had been raped and strangled by her ex-boyfriend. That had been resolved that same day. The second was a dead Lieutenant that had been shot execution style. That had taken a little longer to solve. The lieutenant had been having an affair with a married woman and her husband, the lieutenant’s captain, had found out and killed the guy before turning on his wife.

The third had been a Marine who’d been stabbed multiple times and shot once in the head. That had turned out to be a simple case even if it was strange. The guy’s girlfriend’s daughter had killed him because he wouldn’t sleep with her, never mind that she was only 15 and her mom didn’t even know she was sexually active. The teen would be tried as an adult and would probably get a good chunk of prison time. Wasting her life because someone didn’t sleep with her.

Friday rolled around and thankfully they had the next two days off, as long as no big cases came in. Thankfully nothing did. The only excitement had been when they got a hit on the BOLO out for ClintSmith. Turns out the guy had been arrested for Public Intoxication and released. By the time the cops in Arkansas had realized there was a BOLO out on the man he’d already been released and had left town. Hopefully he would pop back up soon.

TBC…

AN: Goodbye Earl was done by the Dixie Chicks. There is a very good reason for this case being brought up and it will become evident further on down the line. You might be able to guess if you’ve seen the music video for this song. I just twisted things to suit my needs. If you haven’t seen the music video or if it’s been awhile just go here to watch it.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7gNf_9njs&ob=av3e](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7gNf_9njs&ob=av3e) Goodbye Earl by Dixie Chicks

Fair Warning this is a Country song done by a country group that have been blasted for something by the media. I can’t remember what. I know it was something about the war though. All that aside I am eclectic in my music tastes so I often find inspiration in music.

Oh and the green pepper strips are something I used to eat as a kid. It’s quick and easy. Cut peppers, salt to taste and eat. :D Crunchy and Salty and well they are easier to eat than chips especially when riding a bike downhill with no hands. :D


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The next two months were relatively normal for the MCRT team. They would get called out to cases and solve them. ClintSmith seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth with only a few intermittent sightings. They kept the BOLO updated and had an APB out on the man but so far nothing concrete had turned up. Wanda remained in Protective Custody and would remain there until either Clint Smith was arrested or there was a slim chance of him showing up. Tony would make sure Wanda had a direct line of contact for him and Gibbs as well as NCIS dispatch when it was time for Wanda to be released from Protective Custody if Clint was still on the loose.

Things on the home front had also settled into a routine at the Gibbs-DiNozzo residence. Kelly’s nightmares had finally stopped. Sort of. There was still the occasional nightmare but not as bad as what they had been. The constant reassurance that Tony wasn’t going anywhere had helped.

Tony and Gibbs’ relationship was also starting to take off. They had been taking things slow because neither of them were very good at relationships and they wanted this to work, not just for Kelly but themselves as well. Gibbs was smiling more and Tony was calmer.

Rumours were still circulating at work but not as bad as when Tony first moved in. They’d pulled the team down to Abby’s lab a little over a month ago to somewhat explain things to them.

_%Flashback%_

_Kate_ _and McGee had been giving him odd looks lately and it was beginning to get on his nerves. Standing up he headed towards the elevator._

_“Tell Gibbs I’ll be in Abby’s lab if he needs me.”_

_Once he was enclosed in the elevator he sighed running a hand through his hair. He’d known that he’d get odd looks but he hadn’t realized how annoying it would get. Kate’s constant teasing about Kelly not having a mother was beginning to really piss him off. He’d barely managed to stop himself from doing something extremely stupid the last time she’d brought it up. Her constant comments about how Kelly’s mom was smart to leave him and how he must have been mad that his lifestyle of dating was ruined were really beginning to wear on him._

_Kate_ _didn’t know the story and it was times like this that made him wonder why he acted like a care-free overgrown frat boy. Yeah people tended to underestimate him but it also stung when it was someone you worked with, cared for like a sister even. He knew she wasn’t actually trying to hurt him but damn it did hurt._

_The elevator dinged and he stepped out and walked into Abby’s lab, smiling as he saw her dancing around with Bert while she waited on one test or another to get done._

_“Hey Abby!” he half yelled since she had the music at a blaring 11 again._

_Spinning around Abby smiled and shut her music off before asking what brought him down there._

_“Kate and McGee are driving me insane.” He said in a deadpan voice._

_Giggling Abby replied “Well that’s what sibling are supposed to do. Drive each other nuts.”_

_Shaking his head he was about to retort when “DiNozzo!! Aren’t you supposed to be helping McGee with those financials?”_

_“I was Boss. Kate just pissed me off and I needed to speak with Abby.” Tony replied as he turned to look at Gibbs, his eyes shuttered and cold._

_Raising an eyebrow at Tony he told him to go wait by the elevator. He knew that look. It was the same look Tony got when he was angry and sad and he had no idea how to explain it to someone. Talking quickly with Abby he told her they’d be right back. Tony always went to Abby to talk when he needed to get something off his chest and for him to do so while they were working on a case usually meant something extreme was bothering him._

_Walking to the elevators he got in and hit a random floor before waiting till they were in-between floors to hit the emergency stop button. Normally he would wait till they got home to talk to Tony but this looked like it couldn’t wait that long._

_“Tony, look at me.” Gibbs said while Tony just kept his eyes downcast._

_“Tony.” Sighing he grabbed Tony’s chin to force him to meet his eyes._

_“What’s going on?”_

_Tony just shook his head, refusing to speak about it. It must mean someone on the team is involved._

_“Kate? Or McGee?” he asked knowing Tony would tell him even if he didn’t use his voce to do so._

_“Both.” It was a quiet exhalation but Gibbs heard it. Before he could ask Tony to explain he started talking, rambling really._

_“They keep giving me these odd looks. They know I’ve moved in with you, they don’t know why. Kate’s comments don’t help. The fact that one or both of us leaves to pick Kelly up on days when we work late is getting them suspicious and I KNOW they have heard the whispers of co-workers hearing Kelly calling you Daddy which is just raising their curiosity and making Kate’s remarks seem vengeful when they’re not.” Tony said in a rush before stopping and averting his eyes again._

_Sighing Gibbs pulled Tony into his arms, shocking the younger man briefly. Looking down at Tony he whispered into his ear._

_“I’ll talk with them. Have Abby call them down to her lab and explain to them. Ok?”_

_Looking at Gibbs he replied “You mean…tell them about…about us?”_

_“If we have to, Yes. I don’t think we will just yet. We’ll just explain Kelly’s parentage.” Gibbs said wrapping his arms around Tony a little tighter. The smile Tony shot him had his heart stuttering a little. Turning him around he kissed Tony lightly on the lips before pulling away and flicking the switch to get the elevator started again._

_“Thank You Jethro.”_

_Nodding in acknowledgement he told Tony to go back up to the bullpen and wait for him to call them down to Abby’s lab. He would speak with Ducky later, since he knew the ME was also curious about the rumours._

_Tony had walked into the bullpen and sat back down at his computer, studiously ignoring Kate and McGee’s questioning looks. When his phone rang he picked it up absently._

_“Special Agent DiNozzo... Uh Huh. Got it.” Hanging up he’d looked up at the other two keeping his nervousness hidden._

_“Boss wants us down in Abby’s lab pronto.” He’d said before walking towards the elevators, Kate and McGee following at a short distance._

_Once they’d all arrived in Abby’s lab he’d gone straight to one of the chairs that was near Gibbs and sat down._

_Gibbs_ _didn’t waste any time getting right to the heart of the matter._

_“I’m only going to say this once and it WILL NOT be repeated to anyone outside of this room am I clear?”_

_There was a chorus of Yes Bosses from Kate, McGee and Abby. Tony kept silent._

_“Yes Kelly is my daughter, biologically. Her mother was killed and Tony was the investigating officer. I was overseas and somewhere between his ex-captain and NIS it was miscommunicated that she was alive. Tony adopted her. Now they live with me for Kelly’s sake. You have a problem you better tell me now.”_

_When no-one deigned to say anything Gibbs nodded and told Kate and McGee to get back to work, keeping Tony back to speak with him about the case…or so he said._

_Once he was sure the others had reached the bullpen he and Tony headed up and he flipped the switch so he could talk to Tony._

_“You okay?”_

_“Yeah boss. Why wouldn’t I be.” Tony said glancing sidelong at Gibbs._

_“If you say so DiNozzo” He replied flipping the switch as he did so. Tony had been vibrating with energy the rest of the day. When he’d gotten home he’d told Gibbs of the shocked looks Kate and McGee kept giving him and how Kate had first apologized then asked how he could stand living with Gibbs. They’d both gotten a laugh at her disbelief over Tony’s response._

_“He’s not that bad when not working.” He’d told her. He’d told McGee something similar, then added that if McGee pissed Gibbs off Tony would strangle McGee which had caused McGee to both look frightened and curious._

_%End Flashback%_

It had certainly proved to be the right maneuver. Especially when some asshole that was just out of FLETC had decided to try and corner Tony one afternoon in the break-room.

Kate had seen the jerk follow Tony and had gone to the rescue. Sort of. The boy had already pissed her off when he’d made a snide remark about how she should be barefoot at home within earshot of her so this was also her own version of revenge as well.

She’d turned the tables on HIM by cornering the brat and saying that he should just run home to his mommy and let the big boys and girls handle the dangerous job. By the end of her tirade he was so red with embarrassment and they had gathered a crowd that he’d slunk off and hadn’t been seen around since. Tony had been laughing so hard he was damn near crying.

He knew what subject to never mention to Kate…ever. He like his important bits too much to risk her chopping them off…or more like shutting them off as she’d suggested she would do to that cocky brat.

They hadn’t been together very long and while it was more affectionate kissing for the most part there had been a few times where things had gone a little further than just kissing. Damn could Jethro Kiss though! Every time, no matter if it was a soft peck or a more heated kiss Jethro never failed to make his toes curl. No wonder the man had been married three times! One time in particular was memorable because it was the middle of the week and they’d just finished a very rough case.

_%Flashback%_

_They’d gotten in later than usual. It was something they tried to avoid. Thankfully Dom and Brian had agreed to watch Kelly for them on such short notice. Once they had gotten Kelly settled for the night they had gone down to find something to watch and so they could relax before going to bed themselves._

_They’d been watching something mindless. Some comedian or other and had gotten distracted. The light kisses they had been sharing occasionally had gotten heavier and more passionate as the evening wore on._

_Somehow Tony had ended up lying back on the couch with Gibbs on top of him, one hand under his shirt teasing his nipples while the other slowly rubbed Tony through his jeans._

_Tony had barely enough presence to suggest they head upstairs incase Kelly woke up and came downstairs. They had managed to fumble their way upstairs and into the bedroom without falling, breaking apart too often, or waking Kelly up and Tony had landed on the bed with a soft gasp as Gibbs managed to get Tony’s pants open enough to reach hot skin._

_As Gibbs continued to stroke his cock Tony had managed to work his own hand into Gibbs pants to return the favor. Gibbs’ groan as Tony gripped him tight and began to stroke had Tony panting._

_“God. Jethro! I…Oh fuck…” Tony cried out softly biting his lower lip to stifle the scream that wanted to tear out of his throat as Gibbs bit lightly at his collarbone._

_His hips thrust up into Gibbs hand as he continued to stroke, his hand slick with pre-cum._

_“Oh God! Jethro!” Tony groaned, muffling his shout in Gibbs neck as his orgasm tore through him sending ropes of hot cum over Gibbs hand and on Tony’s own chest and abs._

_“Tony…” Gibbs’ own muffled groan sounded shortly after._

_Collapsing into a sweaty and sated tangle half on and half off the bed; they just lay there for a while, catching their breath. Groaning as he sat up Gibbs looked down at Tony and gave him a light kiss before standing and walking to the bathroom, removing his clothes and tossing them in the hamper before starting the shower for them both._

_%End Flashback%_

They had showered and fallen into bed, Tony asleep before his head had even hit the pillow. Thankfully Gibbs had set the alarm otherwise they would have been late getting up the next morning.

Thankfully no one had mentioned anything about the fact that they were in later than usual. They probably chalked it up to Kelly having a bad morning. If only they knew the truth. Kate would be wide-eyed, McGee would be stuttering and Abby would be squealing with delight, and probably collecting on a bet knowing Abby.

The easiest hurdle had been when Gibbs had told Ducky about Kelly. Ducky had already figured out that Tony and Gibbs were in a more serious relationship, though he’d thought it had been going on longer than it had. Though had Tony been drinking anything he’d probably have choked when Ducky made a comment, almost as an afterthought, that he and Gerald had been debating on how long it would take Tony and Gibbs to get together and that they had even gotten Mrs. Mallard in on it. Tony had had no idea that Ducky and Gerald were together.

Things had been pretty smooth sailing once the immediate circle knew at least some of the details.

No one realized the kind of strain that they would be put under in the coming days.

Tony and Kate had walked into the bullpen arguing lightheartedly about something. He was teasing her cause she had a cold and had never been sake bombing. He couldn’t believe that Kate had never been Sake Bombing. Neither had McGee, but that wasn’t as hard to believe.

“I work with a pair of wankers” he’d said and had gotten a smart assed comment from Gibbs, who had just come in from getting coffee.

“And you make three, DiNozzo.” Tony’s mind went back to what they had done early this morning in the shower when Gibbs said that. Oh yeah…it had been mind numbing.

“Morning Boss” he’d replied.

“Morning” Kate had parroted him, which made Gibbs pause and turn around to ask, “Cold or Flu.”

Her response about it being just a plain cold and her comment about sneezing into her tissues unlike some people had gotten a small nod from Gibbs while Tony had said he had allergies.

Gibbs comment about never having allergies and never having a cold had Kate saying somewhat shocked “Never had a cold?”

“Nope. Never had the Flu either.”

Kate had looked at him and said in a stage whisper

“Why do I believe that?”

“If you were a bug would you attack Gibbs?” Tony had replied.

It had gotten a laugh out of Kate and McGee had commented that he always got colds. When McGee brought a letter to his attention that was just addressed to ‘’NCIS Special Agent‘’ he had looked at it then snatched it from McGee’s hands saying it was for him. He recognized the lips and the scent wafting from the envelope. Gummy Bears.

When a fine white powder spoofed up out at him he froze, eyes wide. His eyes shot to meet with Gibbs briefly before they both stood up and Gibbs began to clear the floor of personnel while Kate tossed him a water bottle before hitting the Emergency button on her phone and speaking into it.

“Letter opened in Special Agent Gibbs’s office dispersed a fine white powder. Initiating Bio-Attack procedures. Third Floor is evacuating.”

Gibbs asked McGee, who was slowly backing away from Tony, if he was up on procedures. When McGee began rambling about what they were to do Tony couldn’t help adding the he was lucky cause he won a free trip to Bethesda to be poked and prodded like a pincushion. He also couldn’t help making a comment when Kate said they should hit the showers. Walking past Gibbs he said he was sorry and headed to the showers, Gibbs following behind not long after.

While in the showers Tony asked who would send him Anthrax. Kate’s comment of “Pick a girl Tony. Any Girl” had him snarling back that it wasn’t funny. As he went on to make a joke out of it to lighten the mood he said about his clothes, which were expensive, being incinerated. McGee had to chime in with all the other nasty diseases it could be besides Anthrax. He should have kept his mouth shut when he said it was Honey Dust.

Of course when Gibbs chimed in that he knew what it was and that he’d gotten some last Christmas that didn’t have a card he thought ‘shit’ before mouthing ‘damn’ and saying he thought the post office had screwed up, someone else had gotten Gibbs bottle of Jack and he got their Honey Dust.

_‘Shit. I hope he doesn’t ask questions. I never actually intended to send him the Honey Dust. I must have grabbed the wrong package by mistake, which means the bottle of Jack is still somewhere in the totes of Christmas things.’_

Kate interrupted him by saying “Hey, doesn’t the post office Irradiate our Mail?”

“Yeah, that’s right. All Federal Mail is funneled through the Ion-B facility in Bridgeport, New Jersey. If it has DNA it dies,” McGee had replied.

Tony had asked about whether or not the diseases McGee had mentioned had DNA and had gotten an affirmative response from him.

Once they were done they headed to Autopsy and Ducky drew blood from all of them. Gibbs had told McGee that he should have given the letter to him and Kate had said it wasn’t McGee’s fault since Tony snatched the letter from him. Tony had replied to the barb and said that McGee should have stopped him from grabbing the letter.

Gibbs had grabbed a plastic face mask and some sort of cloth covering and had headed for the doors to Autopsy only to be waylaid by Ducky.

“Where do you think you’re going” Ducky had asked.

“To find out who sent that letter”

“Uhuhuhuhuh…You cannot leave Autopsy. It’s negative pressure, so airborne pathogens can’t contaminate the rest of the building.”

“Ducky I have been scrubbed, sanitized, for all I know sterilized. I have an investigation to open.”

“I have a possible contagion to contain. Until your blood test clears you I cannot permit you to leave this room.” Ducky stood firm. Getting into a staring contest with Gibbs; that is until they were broken up by the sound of the door in back swooshing open.

“Who opened the envelope?” the man who had walked in asked.

Tony had pointed to McGee and said it was him and when McGee started stuttering that it wasn’t him he’d said he was only kidding that he was their pincushion. When asked if he inhaled any powder he’d replied honestly that he might have. Ducky jumped in stating that they took blood and had Palmer hand them over. While he was doing so Kate sneezed which had everyone turning towards her.

“It’s a cold.” She said “I had it **before** I came in this morning.”

Ducky’s reply was that it made her more susceptible to airborne pathogens and that she should go to Bethesda had her up in arms. Gibbs put his foot down and told her to go with Tony to play it safe. Her teasing remark “That’s safe?” had him wanting to roll his eyes, something which Gibbs probably wanted to do too. She got off the table she’d been sitting on though and asked how long they’d have to stay in isolation. She didn’t seem Happy that it would be overnight at the very least. Before they left he motioned to Gibbs that he needed to talk to him. Moving off into a corner he began whispering fiercely,

“Call Dom and Brian please. Have them pick Kelly up from school early and stay at their place with them. She knows them and knows that if she’s spending the night there than I’m working really late. Tell them what happened but don’t let them tell Kelly. I don’t want her to worry.” Tony had said.

“Okay Tony. I will. Don’t flirt too much.” Had been Gibbs reply before Tony nodded and hurried after Kate and the others from Bethesda. Teasing her the whole way.

Meanwhile in Abby’s lab she got a sample and handed it to a guy that would fly it to Atlanta before placing her own sample in Major Mass Spec. Turning around she did a cartwheel towards her computer.

“I didn’t take you for the cheerleader type Abby.” Gibbs said through the plasma.

“Oh I’m not. Grammy taught me that. She was an Olympic Swimmer. Won the Silver in the 200 meter butterfly.” She said.

“What does swimming have to do with cartwheeling?” Palmer asked stepping in to view of the plasma.

“Nothing.”

Turning to McGee he whispered “I don’t understand.”

“Can’t think logically with Abby. Her mind operates like a Pachinko Machine.” McGee replied.

Gibbs asked what the powder was and she replied it was white with a hint of tan. Gibbs annoyed exclamation of “Abbs!” had her rushing to explain that she wouldn’t know until Mass Spec told her. She was Auto-sampling for a host of nasty bio-bugs.

Gibbs question of how long had Abby telling him a couple of hours.

“I thought you said these tests were fast?” Gibbs asked.

“It’s not a pregnancy test Gibbs.” Abby replied.

Meanwhile over at Bethesda Tony was commenting on Kate’s urine which had her in a tiff. When the doctor jumped in and said he couldn’t believe Tony was either he had Kate smiling like a schoolgirl with a crush. When he introduced himself as Doctor Brad Pitt he made it a point to say that he wasn’t related to the actor though he wished he was because he’d love to meet Angelina Jolie Tony scoffed.

Of course Kate would laugh at the lame joke and Tony called her on the fact that if he’d said that she would elbow him; which she did anyway. Walking into the isolation chamber the doctor made introductions with their Duty nurse for the night, Lieutenant Emma Ingham. After being given Streptomycin they were told to take any bed they wanted and Brad said to keep some separation between them. Also that they were informal there and for them to call him Brad.

Once they were settled he asked about the lights being sunlamps. They were UV lights to kill the bacteria they breathed into the air.

Back at the Navy Yard Gibbs was impatient. He’d used Ducky’s phone and had called Dom and Brian and asked them to pick Kelly up from school and to keep her overnight. He told them that there had been an attack on the Agency and that neither him nor Tony would be able to leave anytime soon. Once he’d gotten assurances that they would get her and not tell her anything he hung up. But not before being told to keep them as informed as he could on the situation.

Once that was done he went over to the Plasma and heard Abby’s comment about the letter.

“SWAK?” he asked.

“It’s Sealed With A Kiss Gibbs. Didn’t you ever get a love letter?” Abby said.

“Does a Dear John count?” he’d replied.

She responded that she felt sorry for him. He asked about a return address and got one. Turning to McGee he asked if he’d gotten it. When he said yes he said Good. McGee’s comment that he wished he had his PDA was returned with an offhanded “Use Ducky’s” which prompted McGee to go look for Ducky’s PDA. Palmer was saying something but he just told him to go requisition replacement cell phones and Weapons for his team. Once Palmer was gone he turned back to Abby and began asking more questions, hoping to get to the bottom of this case quickly. Telling McGee that Ducky’s PDA was a Pad and a Pencil had his nerves on edge.

Ducky made the comment that the letter, which was opened under a special containment hood, had beautiful Calligraphy and Abby’s comment on the paper being beautiful 2 pound cotton rag had him asking if she could trace it. Her answer of yes was good. Ducky continued rambling about his mother writing in calligraphy and how at one point every young woman of breeding was taught it as well as his ability in reading his mother’s missives had him asking if Ducky could read this Missive. When he began to read, silently, he raised an eyebrow. Abby’s “I think he means out loud” had him giving a tiny quirk of the lips.

“Oh sorry. Of course. _If you are reading this and have not initiated biological attack procedures, I suggest you do so immediately, since the powder dispersed by opening this envelope contains genetically altered_ ” here Ducky paused to take a breath before continuing “ _Y-Pestis_.”

“Which is Latin. For what?” Gibbs asked.

“Plague” was Ducky’s response.

“The powder in that envelope carries Bubonic Plague?”

“Pneumonic is more likely” was Ducky’s response.

“There’s more than one?” Gibbs asked.

“There are three actually. But pneumonic is by far the most dangerous as it can be spread simply by breathing the Y-pestis particles.”

“Tony must have breathed in some of it.” Gibbs muttered.

Abby chimed in stating that it might not be alive since it would need a host or moisture to survive more than a few hours. McGee’s comment that it was irradiated when it went through the post office didn’t help his building anger any. He got Honey Dust for Christmas for God’s sake!

Abby said she’d narrow her tests to pneumonic y-pestis that way they could figure out which strain it was and Bethesda could hit it with the specific antibiotic.

“Nnn… Yeah well that may not help. It says here _I have genetically altered the Y-Pestis to render it impervious to antimicrobials_.”

“That **BITCH.** She created a strain that antibiotics can’t wack.” Abby said.

“Ducky, give Bethesda a heads up” Gibbs ordered.

“A SWAK does not mean that this Bitch couldn’t be a bastard.” Gibbs said once Ducky had gone to let Bethesda know of their findings,

“You’re so right Gibbs. I have this friend, who’s a transvestite; her lips could out-SWAK Angelina Jolie’s. Remember McGee? You met her at my Birthday Party,” Abby said while examining the letter.

“Oh yeah. The uh low cut red dress with the built in plastic…*wack*

“I saw that Gibbs.” Abby said right after Gibbs had given McGee a headslap with the notepad in his hand.

“Read. Or you’ll feel it.”

“Not while you’re down there” Abby muttered,

“What?!”

“ _However, there is an antidote, _ She made a magic bullet, _which, if administered within 32 hours of infection, will irradicate the disease. To procure the antidote, NCIS must make public the true results reported in dossier R-0377_.”

“McGee! Pull up that file!” Gibbs barked.

“Yup Romeo Zero Three Seven Seven. Got it.” McGee replied, rushing off to Ducky’s computer to bring the file up.

While he did that Abby told Gibbs that that was all she wrote and that the envelope was gilded inside before gasping and saying that there was a moisture strip inside the envelope. Growling that it was to keep the bug alive till the letter was opened Gibbs barked for Abby to check the cancelled stamp. One way to get around postal irradiation was to not use the post office. Ducky walked in then and said he’d spoken with a Dr.Brad Pitt who had stressed that he wasn’t related to the actor in any way, which had Abby going off about if they’d heard when Brad and Jen split up which was interrupted by Gibbs shout of “ABBY!!”

Abby said she couldn’t until she could put the envelope under a microscope and she couldn’t do that until NCID gave her the approval to irradiate. When Gibbs asked when that would be she told him the Navy was sending a Sample to Atlanta and that it should be there…Ducky showed her his watch…right about then. She also said it would be another 12 hours for DNA Confirmation.

Gibbs asked Ducky what the incubation period was. The response of A day at most had him uneasy.

“How long until it kills?” he asked hoping that if Tony was infected they would have enough time to save him. He’d only just gotten the younger agent in his life in a more permanent way and he’d be damned if he’d lose him now because some crazy decided to go all postal.

“Not very long I’m afraid. In the 14th century the novelist Bocatuer, wrote that Plague victims had lunch with their friends and Dinner with their Ancestors in paradise.” Ducky responded. That didn’t give Gibbs much hope. When McGee told him he couldn’t access the file from Ducky’s computer Gibbs said they were coming up, ignoring Ducky’s rant that they couldn’t.

While Ducky ranted that he couldn’t believe Gibbs broke protocol Abby chuckled and told him he didn’t. He said that he’d left Autopsy and she replied but not isolation when Gibbs and McGee walked in in HAZMAT style isolation suits.

Telling McGee to use Abby’s computer to find the file he walked over to Abby and told her to pull the surveillance video from yesterday when he left at 2300 till McGee came in this morning. He’d had so much paperwork that he’d ended up staying late, which was happening less and less as of late. Abby’s “You gotta get a life Gibbs” had him commenting.

“The last thing I need is another wife.” He said while thinking _‘Especially since I have Tony. I have no intentions of re-marrying again. Why should I when I am finally happy again. At least there are no expectations from Tony and he understands me, better than all of my ex-wives combined.’_

“Life; You gotta get a **Life** ” Abby said.

_‘Oh. No not really Abbs. I have one, I just don’t advertise it. I like my privacy. Besides I don’t stay as late as I used to. Especially since I have Tony **AND** Kelly to go home to.’_ He thought.

Walking into Abby’s office when he heard McGee yell he listened as the youngest agent said he’d found the file, that it was a rape case. Telling him to get the investigating agent down here he went to leave when McGee stuttered that he couldn’t because it was Pacci. Remembering the grisly scene of Pacci’s murder he told him to put the case up on the plasma.

Reading through the information listed in the case he turned to Ducky and told home to contact Cassie Yates in Norfolk and tell her what happened since he needed her help.

“I thought Cassie was working Narcotics Suppression?” Abby asked him once Ducky had left to go call her.

“Four years ago Cassie was Pacci’s Probie.” He said.

“The victim, SarahLowell was visiting Annapolis to register for an Advanced Study Program at St. John’s. Police had the case for three days before they called us in” he continued.

“They found a Navy Suspect?” Abby asked.

“A dozen of them. Firsties were partying at the hotel the night of the assault.” Gibbs said before being interrupted by Abby,

“Firsties?”

“Academy Seniors. They just got their fleet assignments. And…are you scanning?” he queried.

“Gibbs I can multi-task. I can listen to you. I can scan the video, I can rub my Tummy and ta…” she was interrupted by Gibbs.

“DNA testing cleared them. Closed our investigation.”

“And someone wants it re-opened.” Abby replied.

Nodding Gibbs went and told McGee to call Annapolis PD because he wanted their case file. Ducky came in and told him that he’d spoken to Cassie and that she remembered the case. She’d be there in 15 minutes.

“From Norfolk?” Gibbs sounded skeptical and surprised. Even he wouldn’t be able to make it to Norfolk in 15 minutes.

“No Anacostia. She’s working a Drug Sting.” Ducky told him.

McGee interrupted saying that the police in Annapolis wouldn’t be able to hear him through his helmet if he called, before stuttering that he’d use the computer when Gibbs glared at him. When Abby yelled for him from the other room he went to see what she wanted.

“Look who else doesn’t have a life. Tony came back around Midnight.” He’d known that. Tony couldn’t sleep because something was bothering him about a cold case he’d been working on and he went to check into it since Gibbs was home. It had only happened two other times that Tony couldn’t sleep and so headed into the office so Gibbs didn’t worry.

“He does his best work at night.” He said instead with a soft smirk playing on his lips, while his mind replayed the events of a few nights ago.

“So he tells us” Abby replied. “There’s Tony Leaving. That’s Ben, the mail boy. He didn’t do it.” Abby continued.

“Why Not?” he asked.

“He’s a vegan.”

“Hitler was a vegan.” Gibbs deadpanned,

“Hitler was a Vegetarian! Big Difference. Vegans are so against cruelty they won’t even use cosmetics tested on animals.” Abby told him.

“Abigail? Could y-pestis be altered to withstand irradiation?”Ducky questioned.

Abby’s reply was that it couldn’t because even if it was altered it was still a living organism. Gibbs asked whether the gilding in the envelope could protect it and again the answer was no. The gilding would have needed to be at least ten mils thick and it was barely even on mil inside the envelope.

“Uh-Oh” Abby said after a moment.

“Abby I do not want to hear any more uh-oh’s.” Gibbs said sternly.

“Sorry, but this SWAK didn’t bleed through. There’s another one on the inside.” She told him.

“Get that letter out here where you can examine it.” Gibbs told her.

“Gibbs I told you I have to wait for Atlanta to se…” Abby began but was interrupted by Gibbs who could practically feel the clock ticking.

“Any doubt it’s pneumonic plague?” he asked.

“No but…”

“Then no buts okay. We’re losing time. Kill those bugs! Now!” he demanded.

~Bethesda Naval Hospital ---> Isolation Unit~

Tony asked Kate if she though the blue lights actually zapped bugs or if they were just there to make them think they were working. Like a placebo. Kate told him that placebos were administered for psychological effect and that they were there to kill any bugs they breathed into the air. He conceded that she could have a point and laid back on the bed.

When she asked if he was afraid he scoffed and asked when had she ever seen him afraid. She aid never but the danger was always something they could physically see and confront. Since all they could do there was lie around and hope they weren’t infected she felt justified in saying that.

“Now who’s afraid?” he asked her.

“Anyone with half a brain.” Was her retort. Then she laughed while saying that she takes what she said back, that he’s not afraid. Tony sighed and looked slightly despondent at the lights while wiping his forehead. In truth he WAS afraid, but not because of what Kate thought. He was afraid that he’d never see Kelly or Gibbs again. He was afraid that because of some psycho he would hurt the two people he loved more than anything. Leaving Kelly once again only this time, Gibbs wouldn’t be able to bring him back.

Outside Dr.Pitt walked over to the monitoring station where Nurse Emma was and turned off the speakers and mics.

“All the blood cultures came back negative except for Special Agent DiNozzo’s. He’s infected with Y-pestis.” He told her as they both looked at the two federal agents in the isolation chamber.

~Abby’s Lab~

“Damn it Abby! How much longer?” Gibbs growled.

“Patience is not you virtue is it?” she asked before telling him to look at the plasma.

“Moldy Bread.” He stated,

“It’s a y-pestis microbe from the powder in the letter.” She said before bringing another picture up beside that one. “This is the y-pestis as the human race has known it for half the millennium. The strain of the plague they fight with antibiotics.”

“The one in the letter has blue tips” Gibbs stated.

“It’s been genetically altered to resist antibiotics. You catch that you’re stuck in the Dark Ages, which personally I wouldn’t mind until it killed me.”

“This wasn’t whipped up in your local meth house,” Gibbs observed.

“Noo…this took a hot molecular biologist and a Big Buck lab to make this bio-weapon.” She said just as a beep sounded.

“Oh my baby’s calling. I ran a mass-spec on the SWAK.” She said

Gibbs wondered why she was analyzing lipstick instead of the letter. When she told him that since all lipstick was approved and tested by the FDA she’d be able to trace it since the person was into calligraphy she figured their lipstick would be esoteric and so rare and traceable.

While looking at the analysis she says that something is weird. All the basics are there like wax, oil, eosin dye, titanium dioxide but that they are in such low quantities it makes no sense. When she sees the lead content she is shocked. She tells Gibbs the reason the y-pestis survived postal irradiation is because the lipstick is 72% Pure Lead. With a Lead SWAK on top, A Lead SWAK on the bottom and genetically altered Y-pestis on a moisture pad in between it kept the y-pestis alive.

“This is one smart Bitch.” She told Gibbs.

“Wash your mouth out with purple soap,” a voice said from behind them. Turning Abby smiled.

“Cassie. Wow. Are you suppressing drugs or selling them?” she joked when she saw Cassie in a slinky red dress.

“Working undercover. Everything I’m wearing is confiscated even the la pearl underwear.” Cassie told her before going on.

“Gibbs is that you playing teletubby?” she asked as she headed to where the envelope was. “Is this the Anthrax letter?” she asked.

“Oh, it’s not Anthrax it’s plague.” Abby told her.

“Thank God. Anthrax scares the hell outta me.” She said before asking if she could look at the letter. Getting the go ahead she examined the envelope saying that she recognized the return address. Gibbs told her they’d tracked it back to the Admiral Bay Hotel, which is where the girl was raped. Ducky came in just then.

“Gibbs! Gibbs. All the Blood tests came back negative except…”

“Tony.” Gibbs said a note of worry in his voice. When Ducky nodded and sighed he pulled the top part of the suit off; glad to be out of the damn thing.

“He sick yet?” He asked the ME hoping they would still have time to save him.

“Well Not yet but the doctor says his temperature’s elevating. The y-pestis is attacking his pulmonary system. Hi Cassie.”

“Hey Ducky. How far are we into this 32 hour window?” she asked.

“Too Far. Tony will begin coughing soon. When his spewter becomes bloody he’ll only have a few hours to live.” Ducky told her morosely.

Gibbs growled at Abby to get the damn letter out of the hood it was under. She did and Cassie said that things were too easy. With the custom paper and Calligraphy that is all traceable. He asked if she knew who sent it and she told him no but she knows who they wanted them to think sent it.

~Bethesda---->Isolation Chamber~

“Bedtime snack, Brad?” Tony asked as the doctor adjusted the IV.

“Mmm.IV drip increases the efficacy of streptomycin.” He told him.

“They teach you efficacy at Harvard Medical? Tony tried to joke.

“Michigan.”

“Can’t be. It’s too weird.” Tony half mumbled.

“Why? You a Wolverine too?” Brad asked.

“Buckeye.” Tony said with a slight sneer.

“Wait. You’re **THAT** DiNozzo? ’92, Columbus.” Brad said.

“We kissed our sisters.”

“13-13 tie. You broke your leg in the fourth quarter.” Brad commented.

“ **YOU** broke my leg in the fourth quarter.” Tony shot back.

While Tony and Brad continued to argue good naturedly and talk Emma was over with Kate who had scoffed upon hearing the talk of college.

“They’re gonna start bonging beers next.” She said to Emma with a slight note of disapproval in her voice. While she knew Tony was more responsible than he let on there were still times when Kate thought he epitomized sophomoric. Even if he only did so to torment her. She told Emma as much when she said that she didn’t thinks so.

Kate was shocked and spun her head towards Tony so fast when Nurse Emma told her that his blood test had come back positive. The fact that Emma had said she was okay and that Tony was the only one infected didn’t help Kate’s mood any. What would happen to Kelly if Tony died? Sure she had Gibbs but Tony had been the one to raise her from what Kate had been able to gather.

Turning back to Emma she stood up when she heard Tony ask Brad what he had. His shock at hearing it was the plague struck a chord with Kate and she acted without thinking.

“Yeah Tony, Plague. Cause only you would go off and get a disease from the Dark Ages.”

“I didn’t put plague in the letter!” Tony exclaimed in response.

“You opened it!”

“Yeah so I opened it! What are you so upset about? It’s not like you’re lying…”

“Yeah, that’s right, Travolta. I’m infected too.” Kate told him, glancing briefly at Dr.Pitt.

“Oh Kate, I’m sorry.” He told her. He did sound very sorry that she was infected too. It was about this time that Kate realized just how much Tony did for them. Always taking Gibbs anger that way they didn’t, making them laugh when things got too depressing, so many things and no one realized it nor thanked him for it.

“Well you’re gonna be sorrier.” She told him, hoping that their normal banter would at least keep things from getting too heavy and oppressive.

“No. Don’t tell me Gibbs got it?” Tony said while thinking _‘Oh God, please no. Don’t let Jethro have plague too. For Kelly’s sake. At least if only I go Kelly still has someone. Please let Jethro be okay’_

His morose thoughts were interrupted when Kate told him that they were the only ones to have it and she was going to make his life hell. Trying to brush her comment off he said she couldn’t be worse than the plague, before coughing a little and then saying that maybe she could. He chuckled softly when she said she was warning him. If that’s how she wanted to be then two could play that game. They were interrupted from their bantering by Brad saying Kate’s name. She then interrupted him by saying she knows he wants to start her IV and heading back to her bed.

~NCIS, Abby’s lab~

Gibbs and Cassie walked into Abby’s office and Gibbs told McGee that Cassie needed the computer. When McGee said okay, got up and began yelling that him and Cassie had parking spaces next to each other in Norfolk Gibbs turned to him and asked why he was yelling. When McGee realized Gibbs was helmetless and he told him that the blood tests were negative he pulled his own helmet off with an exclaimed “Sweet”

“Not for DiNozzo” Gibbs said while looking over Cassie shoulder as she typed furiously.

“Positive?” Is he gonna be okay?”  he heard McGee ask.

“If he isn’t he’ll be answering to me.” He said while thinking that he wouldn’t be the only person he’d be answering to.

_‘Shannon, please watch over Tony as you have Kelly and if you see him kick his ass back down to earth for me please?’_ he thought, hoping that if there was some mystical deity that he would be heard and Tony would make it through.

Once Cassie had brought up her training files that had her notes and they had someone to go and arrest Gibbs had McGee get a warrant for HannahLowell and Lowell Pharmaceuticals. He told Ducky to go to Bethesda and keep him updated on Tony’s condition and to find out why Kate hadn’t checked in.

Just then Palmer appeared with the phones and a guard. He told Gibbs that he got the replacement cellphones but that they wouldn’t trust him with the weapons. He told him he wouldn’t either, then grabbed and loaded his SIG and grabbed Tony’s cell phone ignoring Palmer’s stuttering that it was Tony’s cell.

On the way to arrest Hannah he called Brian and Dom and told them what he knew of Tony’s condition. He also told them that he’d pick Kelly up from them once he was done with the case and knew Tony was okay. He thanked them for watching Kelly while this shit went down and they told him it was no problem but that he should probably take Kelly to see Tony as soon as he was able because she was asking questions already and they’d had two phone calls from the school already. He agreed and told them he would and hung up.

Once they had arrived at Lowell Pharmaceuticals Cassie asked how he wanted to do things. He told her the subtle approach. She could serve the warrant and he’d shove his SIG in her face. Her comment about Hannah Lowell having been arrested and wouldn’t be intimidated had him telling her then he’d just shoot her.

Once they had made it to the top floor, arrested Hannah Lowell and found out which micro-biologist had created the damn bug he ran down and got the information he needed. There was no Antidote. He hadn’t felt that angry since he’d been told Shannon and Kelly had been murdered. Finding out that the bug had a suicide gene that stopped it from replicating after 32 hours had him breathing a sigh of relief until Dr. Pandy told him that the damage had been done and Tony would only have a 15 percent chance of survival. Like hell he was going to let Tony die! He had already told Cassie to take Hannah to lock-up and he headed off to Bethesda to make sure Tony didn’t die and to let them know that the bug was dead.

~ Bethesda Naval Hospital ~

Dr.Pitt placed the X-Ray he’d taken of Tony’s lungs up on the lighted viewing board so that Ducky could see it.

“It looks like pneumonia” Ducky commented.

“Worse I’m afraid. Showing signs of cyanosis. His fingernails and lips are going blue.” Dr.Pitt told Ducky as they walked over to look into the isolation chamber at Tony who was surrounded by Kate and the Nurse.

“The y-pestis is starving his body of oxygen. It’s too late to reverse, isn’t it?” Ducky said.

“It’s never too late” Dr.Pitt told him.

“Until I get the body,” was Ducky’s morose response.

In the isolation room Tony tells Kate that he’s sorry for having teased her with all of his movie references. She tried to make a joke out of it by saying he tortured her with them. When he asked why she was wearing a mask she told him that it was because she had a cold and that she wasn’t sick because she was stronger than him. When he said she wasn’t and she said she was then began coughing and almost choking she began to back up. Brad came into the room and told Kate that she should leave. Walking into the outer section where the air was pulled from the chamber she pulled of her mask and began crying.

“Oh God” she mumbled and once the doors opened she went to Ducky and let him hold her while her tears got the best of her.

“You were brave to stay with him Kate,” Ducky told her.

“He’s dying Ducky,” she sobbed.

Neither noticed Gibbs walk in until he suddenly spoke while rushing past them.

“Ah the Hell he is.”

Walking into the room he was stopped by a doctor in a mask.

“Woah woah woah, Who the Hell are you?” the doctor asked.

“His Boss. The bug had a suicide gene. It’s dead. Been dead for over an hour. He’s no longer infectious.” Gibbs told him before walking around him as the two left.

“Tony, listen to me. You listening?” he asked.

Tony replied, trying to catch air, his voice rough from coughing and soft “I’m listening Boss.”

“You will not die. Ya got that?” when Gibbs didn’t get a response he tapped Tony on the top of his head in lieu of a normal headslap.

“I said. You. Will not. Die.” He whispered adamantly into Tony’s ear. This was an order he’d damn well better follow.

“I got ya Boss” Gibbs smiled slightly when Tony answered him.

“Good. Once you’re in ICU I’m going to bring Kelly by to see you. She’s already missing her Papà according to Dominic and Brian. Don’t flirt too much while I’m gone ya hear?” he whispered into Tony’s ear, getting a nod before remembering his cell phone.

“Ah. It’s your new cell.” He said, placing the cell phone in Tony’s hand and giving his hand a discreet squeeze while doing so. Standing he went to leave throwing what would seem like one of his offhanded comments over his shoulder.

“I’d get the number changed, Women keep calling for Spanky.” He knew Tony would get the meaning. It was an ongoing joke between them that no-one had figured out the true meaning to yet. Everyone just thought his off-colour jokes on Tony’s supposed dating habits were just that, jokes. They didn’t realize the significance of them which was a good thing.

Once Gibbs had left Kate asked Brad if she could sleep in the isolation unit and was giventhe all clear to do so, just told that she wasn’t to give Tony her cold. Once she had laid down she looked over at Tony briefly since Emma had said he was asleep. His comment about the end of Alien had her smiling and giving a little chuckle, she would have missed him if he’d died.

%The Next Day%

Gibbs had picked Kelly up from Dominic and Brian’s place last night and told her that Tony was sick and that they would go and see him tomorrow. He didn’t want her to worry too much so he didn’t tell her how close they had come to losing him.

Early that morning Tony had been moved from the Isolation unit and been placed in a room in the Pulmonary recovery ward of Bethesda and Kate had been sent home. Abby had picked her up and let Kate use her cell phone to call Gibbs and let him know that Tony was in a regular room and that since Kelly was family they wouldn’t kick either of them out if they wanted to stay past visiting hours or even stay with Tony overnight. She knew that it would be a comfort to Kelly being able to be near Tony.

Once Gibbs had gotten the both of them something to eat he drove to Bethesda with Kelly talking a mile a minute in the backseat. Telling him that she couldn’t wait to tell her Papà about how much fun she’d had at her uncle’s house and how much she’d missed him and wanted him to get better so he could come home. He smiled as he listened to her chatter. Pulling into a parking space they got out and walked into the hospital.

Things were fine until they got to the floor Tony was on. There was a nurse at the desk that was being an all around nuisance. They had been walking past when she’d called out to them that they had to sign in. She pointed at a clipboard with one delicately painted long fingernail. Gibbs went over to the sheet and wrote out the pertinent information of who they were here to see and turned to leave. He was stopped again by the nurse when she told him that visiting hours wouldn’t start for another two hours.

He turned around and glared at her before telling her they were family and had authorization to visit at ANY time from Tony’s doctor. She said that she didn’t believe him and went to pick up the phone to call security as he turned back around and headed for the hallway that Tony’s room was down. He heard her heels clicking on the tile as she scurried to try and catch up to his longer stride. He got to Tony’s room and let Kelly run over to Tony, who had the bed raised into a sitting position, a nose cannula resting by his shoulder as he drank some broth.

“Papà!” Kelly exclaimed once he’d put her down as she ran to Tony and climbed up onto the bed to give him a hug.

“Hey piccina” Tony said with a smile on his face as he hugged her back while looking at Gibbs curiously because of the huffing nurse that stood behind him.

At this point a security guard walked up and spoke with the nurse who got a positively gleeful look on her face when the guard turned to Gibbs and said.

“Excuse me sir. The nurse told you that visiting hours weren’t due to start for two hours. I am going to have to ask you to leave.”

Gibbs turned to the man, glared at him and pulled his badge before telling the man that he was a federal agent, so was Tony and that He had clearance to be here from Dr. Brad Pitt, Tony’s treating physician and that Kelly was Tony’s daughter.

Dr. Pitt had just come down the hall to start his rounds and check on Tony when he saw what was going on. He told the security guard that he had left specific instructions with the Duty Nurse at the desk that normal hospital policy would not apply to Special Agent DiNozzo because of the unique circumstances. The nurse flushed at being dressed down for not following the specific instructions. Apparently the Duty nurse that Kate had spoken with had had a Family Emergency and had not informed her of those circumstances when she’d been called in to cover for her. She apologized and made sure to make a note that all future nurses would see so that it didn’t happen again.

Nodding Gibbs watched her leave before turning to speak with Dr. Pitt about when Tony could be released.

“If Special Agent DiNozzo continues to improve he can be released tomorrow providing someone will be there to keep an eye on him. Gibbs said someone would be there before walking into the room to find Tony smiling as Kelly chattered on.

He moved to sit in the chair by the bed and they talked once Kelly had worn herself out talking and fallen asleep leaning on Tony’s shoulder. She hadn’t been able to sleep last night and so it was no wonder she’d fallen asleep now that she knew he was ok.

He told Tony about what had happened and how Kelly had been unable to sleep. He told him that he was getting Two weeks leave to recover. He smiled as he leaned in and gave Tony a chaste kiss. Lunch rolled around and Kelly woke up. Gibbs took Kelly and they went to grab something to eat as well. When they got back Tony had fallen into a light doze and Gibbs told Kelly that they had to be quiet. She nodded and climbed back on the bed with Tony, leaning against him as she colored.

Tony woke up about an hour later and Kelly asked if she could stay with him. Tony looked to Gibbs who said that Dr. Pitt had said it was okay. Tony nodded and Gibbs smiled. When Tony fell back asleep him and Kelly went home to get something to eat and grab a change of clothes for Tony and pj’s for Kelly. They ate supper and went back to the hospital. Tony had just woke up and was being served dinner when they got back. Once Tony’s tray had been cleared and Brad had checked Tony over again they settled in for the night. Gibbs smiled at the picture Tony and Kelly made.

Eventually morning rolled around and Gibbs, who had fallen asleep a few hours previously, awoke with a start when Brad walked into the room. He checked Tony over and told them that he would go start the release paperwork and that once Tony had eaten breakfast they could leave. Finally they were able to leave. Gibbs laughed as Tony grumbled about having to leave in a wheelchair. Gibbs just smiled as Kelly, with some help from the nurse, wheeled Tony down the hall and to the elevators. From there he was wheeled outside and Gibbs went and got the car. Once Tony was settled and Kelly buckled in Gibbs got in and headed for home.

Thankfully Dr. Pitt had some sense about him. He knew that normally Tony would have had to stay for at least three days, but due to Ducky telling him that it would be best to release Tony sooner than normal because otherwise he would sweet talk some hapless nurse into getting him the papers to sign out AMA. It meant that Tony was still on oxygen but only as a precaution and that Ducky would be stopping in to check on Tony and that Tony would be restless because while he was out of the hospital he still wouldn’t be allowed to do much more than go to the bathroom, eat, and sleep. No moving from room to room to room for him.

Gibbs was just glad that Tony was able to come home at all. The next three weeks would prove to be just as harrowing as the past few days had been, if not more so.

TBC…

AN: I am in no way a doctor. The only thing I can do medical wise is bandage wounds and CPR. The only reason I know CPR is because of my sister-in-law who is medically trained. I do know that the minimum around here for something dealing with the pulmonary system is three days. Same with certain surgeries. I only know that because my sister-in-law had pneumonia really bad and because my sister in law had had two surgeries for her stomach (which was wrapped around her lungs and heart the second time as well as having a collapsed lung for three months and not knowing it) and had a cage, rods, screws and a plate placed into her back. That one the minimum was supposed to be 5 days. She got out in four.

Also I know that there were probably areas that are OOC for Gibbs AND Tony. Feel free to point them out especially since it will probably help me to keep them in-character.

 I know I used a lot of dialogue directly from the episode. I actually spent several hours re-watching SWAK and writing down all of the dialogue and scene switches and also what happened in the scene. I basically made a rough script of SWAK to use as reference material for this chapter. I did it this way because I started writing and just couldn’t stop. I found it really hard to compress the events of SWAK into something smaller hence this reading like a very bad synopsis of SWAK. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t seem to work this chapter any other way. There are differences due to Kelly being alive but for the most part the events of SWAK are written directly like they happened…I just cut a lot of the dialogue into paragraphs that described the dialogue. I never was good at summarizing things into my own words. Hopefully I didn’t piss too many people off by re-hashing the events of SWAK. *sweatdrop* Only I would find it hard to summarize something…


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

After leaving the hospital; Tony crashed on the couch with Kelly snuggling in next to his side. Her head lay over his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat. She may not know just exactly what Tony had but she could tell that he was really sick and it scared her. She was afraid that he would leave like her mommy had.

Taking in the scene Gibbs went to grab the camera that they kept around for moments that were just too good to pass up like this one. He paused when his cell phone began ringing. Grabbing it quickly he answered with a gruff “Gibbs.”

_~ Gibbs! Can we see him? He is home right? They didn’t keep him longer did they? Can I…”_

“Abby!” Gibbs interrupted exasperatedly while watching Tony, who was starting to stir in his sleep. Holding his breath he waited a moment until Tony settled back down into what seemed to be an even deeper sleep.

“Yes, he is home. He’s asleep right now so no you can’t come over yet. I will talk to him when he wakes up. I don’t think he can handle any visitors right now but we’ll see Abbs.” Gibbs told her when she started to complain.

_~ “Okay. Hey! Maybe we can make it a welcome home party.” She said._

“We’ll see Abby.” He told her before saying goodbye and hanging up.

Heading back down the hall to where they kept the camera Gibbs grabbed the camera and went back into the living room and snapped a quick picture of the two of them. Even with the dark circles under Tony’s eyes it was a cute picture. They’d have to get the roll of film developed soon.

About an hour later Gibbs went back into the living room and knelt down in front of the couch. Leaning slightly over Tony he gave him a chaste peck on the lips and began to whisper in his ear.

“Tony. Tony you need to wake up. Tony. C’mon babe wake up.” He sat back a bit as Tony’s eyes slowly blinked open. He went to says something but Gibbs placed a finger over his lips.

“Shhh. Kelly’s still asleep. She missed you a lot even though you were only gone for a few days. Abby called. She wants to see you and I think she’s going to invite the rest of the team. I told her not tonight. Okay.”

“Yeah, thanks Jethro. I love Abby to death but I don’t think I could handle her exuberance tonight.” Tony said.

“I know. If you’re feeling up to it maybe we could have the team over for dinner tomorrow night.” Gibbs told Tony.

“Sounds good.” The younger man replied.

Hearing the door open Gibbs stood up but before he could greet the visitor Ducky walked in.

“Jethro, I just spoke with…” Ducky began only to be stopped upon the sight of Tony laying on the couch with Kelly resting against his side and Gibbs leaning against the arm of the couch.

Yawning Kelly opened her eyes and seeing who was there carefully climbed down from the couch and rushed over to greet their visitor.

“Nonno Ducky!” Kelly exclaimed running up to him and hugging him before running back to Tony and leaning against him again.

Smiling Ducky walked over and sat in the chair near the couch.

“Anthony, my dear boy, how are you feeling today?” he asked.

“Okay Ducky. Tired and sick of being sick. Thanks for convincing Brad to let me come home early. I’d have gone insane if I’d have had to stay in the hospital any longer.” Tony told the ME.

“Of course, Anthony. I also spoke with the director and he has agreed to giving you three weeks of what amounts to paid vacation, without actually using your vacation or sick days. If you need more time than that, your accrued sick days will be used, paid of course. Tom said that you have well over three months of unused paid sick and vacation days on the books that should you need to or wish to you can use them.” Ducky told the younger man while sharing a look with Gibbs.

They talked for a little while longer before Ducky did a quick check of Tony, listening to his heart, lungs, pulse and checking some other things.

Standing up Gibbs walked Ducky to the door and saw him out. Locking the door he turned and went back into the living room where Kelly and Tony were fighting to stay awake.

“Okay time for bed, for the both of you.” He said before either of them could protest. He helped Tony up from the couch and was there if he needed help to get up the stairs. Once Tony was in the bedroom he went and made sure Kelly was ready for bed. He needn’t have worried because she had gotten ready and fallen into bed, the covers pulled half-hazardly over her. Straightening them out he kissed her forehead and left. Turning the light out and leaving the door cracked in case.

Walking back into the bedroom he shared with Tony he found the younger man struggling to catch his breath after a coughing fit. Helping Tony to relax and catch his breath he then helped the younger man into the bathroom where they both got showered and dressed for bed. Helping Tony to prop the pillows up so that his airway was clear they settled in to sleep.

Every time Tony’s breathing started to change Gibbs would wake up and listen, making sure that Tony would be okay. They had sent home a portable oxygen machine just in case and in the middle of the night he had woken Tony and asked if he wanted the oxygen turned on. Getting a nod he got up and got  
the oxygen turned on for Tony. Once that was done he found that he only woke up once or twice when Tony got a coughing fit.

Morning came and went. They’d woken up and gotten ready for the day. Director Morrow had given him some time off due to the situation. Gibbs had made breakfast for them and Tony had managed to keep down some toast and half of a banana. He wasn’t really hungry he’d told Gibbs.

They spent the day relaxing. Gibbs worked on his boat a bit while Tony took a nap on the couch and Kelly colored in the living room near Tony. She’d been glued to his side for most of the day. He went upstairs and found Kelly just resting against Tony and watching TV with the volume down. He made lunch, which consisted of Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Once they had eaten Gibbs brought up the conversation they had had last night.

“Tony, Do you want to have the team over tonight?”

“Yeah, I think I can handle them now.”

“You sure?” he asked

“Yeah. I’m surprised Abby hasn’t been blowing both our phones up with text messages and calls already.” Tony joked with Gibbs.

Nodding Gibbs said he would call Abby and tell her to come over around 1800.

They had told Kelly that Abby and Kate and McGee were coming over. Kelly had gotten used to the team and they had gotten used to her very quickly, even if they had been curious for awhile. They both remembered with fondness McGee’s reaction to being called Zio Timmy. He’d about fainted even though he had no idea what Zio meant. He’d heard Kelly call Abby and Kate Zia so it had to be something nice. He had started hyperventilating when Tony had said welcome to the family in a Brooklyn accent. (1) Tony had followed that up with telling him that Zio meant Uncle and Zia meant Aunt. Kate had her hand on the phone just in case Ducky was needed to revive the youngest Agent on his team. Kelly seemed to jump between Italian and English. She said some things sounded cooler in Italian.

At 1700 Abby showed up. She said she couldn’t wait to see Tony any longer. She’d brought her famous Gumbo for Tony since she knew he liked it. She had also brought him a dozen black roses. Kelly had asked why she brought dead roses.

Laughing Abby told her that they weren’t dead. They were rare and held one out for Kelly to smell. Kelly had smiled and hugged her Aunt before saying okay and sitting back down next to Tony.

Kate and Ducky had been the next ones to show up shortly before 1800. Kate had brought some home-made cookies and Ducky had brought a small bottle of single malt scotch. For a celebratory toast he told them, handing the bottle to Gibbs as he did so.

McGee was the final one in their “family” and he brought Pizza from Tony’s favourite pizza place and he said that he had some board games in his car if they wished to play them. Tony asked what they were and got an unholy grin when McGee said Trivial Pursuit.

Everyone sat around in the living room after eating their fill of Gumbo, Pizza, and other foods. Abby helped Gibbs place the leftovers in the fridge while Kelly helped her Uncle Timmy set up the game of Trivial Pursuit in the living room. When she saw the amber colored liquid in the fridge that was unlabeled she asked what it was.

“Ask Tony.” Gibbs told her. Nodding she finished helping in the Kitchen and when they went in she asked Tony about the unlabeled bottles in the fridge.

“Tony? What’s in those unlabeled bottles in the fridge?”

“Huh? Oh. The ones with the amber colored liquid? Home-made Apple Pie courtesy of my Aunt. She sends me some at Christmas time and unless you wanna fall on your ass I wouldn’t drink more than one glass if you want to try it.” Tony smiled as he said this. (2)

“No Thanks. Maybe later.” Abby told him. Nodding they went back to mixing the cards for several separate Trivial Pursuit games into one game.

After they had the cards mixed up they picked teams. They each chose a colored pie circle Gibbs and Tony being green, McGee and Ducky orange, and Abby, Kate and Kelly being blue.

They rolled the dice to see which team would go first. It turned out to be Kelly’s team.

Their first question was: “What Disney movie was nominated for an Academy Award in the 1990’s?”

Kelly knew this one because it was one of her favourite movies. She liked the Beast even if Belle was annoying.

“Beauty and the Beast!” she exclaimed.

“Who started the sci-fi TV series Star Trek?”

“Gene Rodenberry” McGee answered.

“What US City did Indiana Jones take off from on his adventures in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_?”

“That’s easy. San Francisco.” Tony answered.

“How many _Rocky_ Movies were made by 1990?”

“Five.” Tony said without delay. Movie trivia was his forte after all.

“What do you fear will stick to the roof of your mouth if you have arachibutyrophobia?”

 “Peanut Butter! Though how anyone can fear Peanut Butter is beyond me.” Abby answered.

“Why is the Funny Bone so called?”

“It's the humerus.” Ducky said. Being an ME he knew enough about human anatomy.

“How Many original Seasons of Gilligan's Island were TV Viewers subjected to?”

“Three.” was Tony’s response.

“What Dickens character said _“Please, sir, I want some more”_?”

“Oliver Twist.” Kate said without preamble.

They continued on in this vein for quite some time with the end result being a tie between Tony and Gibbs and Kate, Abby and Kelly. Ducky and McGee were one away from it having been a three-way tie.

By this point Tony was tired as was everyone else. It had been a fun evening despite the circumstances under which it had started out as and they decided they should do this again sometime. McGee decided to leave the game there for now as he was too tired to want to sort through and place the game pieces and Trivia Cards in their respectful boxes.

Once everyone had left Gibbs carried Kelly, whom had fallen asleep while everyone was getting ready to leave, upstairs and laid her in bed. Gong back downstairs he helped a drowsy Tony upstairs and into their bedroom. Once they were both settled for the night, Tony with his oxygen cannula in place, they quickly fell asleep. The next few days would see Tony slowly improving and also becoming quite grouchy.

It had been almost a week since Tony had come home from the hospital after his bout of Y-pestis and Tony had plans for that night. Plans that Gibbs knew nothing about. Once the day had gone by and Kelly was in bed Tony made sure he was sprawled out on the floor in front of the fireplace. He was watching a movie when Gibbs came down from checking on Kelly.

“I go back to work tomorrow.” Gibbs said.

“I know, Jethro. Half days right?”

“Yeah.”

“You going to take Kelly to school before going to work? Or should I let her ride the bus?” Tony questioned.

“I’ll take her to school. Her teachers will probably want to talk to us sometime this week.”

“Yeah. If they do I’m going with you. I need to ask them about how the investigation into those boys is going. Kelly hasn’t mentioned anything about them and neither of us have gotten anymore calls and it’s a bit disconcerting.” Tony told him.

Nodding Gibbs agreed with Tony’s assessment even if he didn’t like the fact that Tony would be leaving the house for what could be several hours. He didn’t want him to end up back in the hospital even if it was relatively warm outside. He knew that Tony would sit outside in the backyard and watch Kelly play on the swing set that they had gotten her recently.

He was watching the movie that Tony had in, something about Medieval Britain, the Crusades and men wearing Green Tights.(3).

While he was contemplating the movie Tony had moved and was leaning against him, playing with the collar of Gibbs' Polo. This distracted Gibbs from his thoughts as he looked down into the younger man’s eyes. Leaning down he placed a chaste kiss on Tony’s lips before pulling away. He was thwarted by Tony’s hand in his hair, pulling him back down for another, longer kiss.

Breaking apart Tony panted for breath while Gibbs was only slightly out of breath. Pulling away from Tony’s hold he attempted to get up but was stopped by Tony who’s hand tightened in his shirt not letting him pull away. Looking down into Tony’s eyes he could clearly see the emotions running through them. He knew what Tony wanted. Wrapping his arms around the younger man he pulled him close.

Leaning down he placed a kiss on his lips and let Tony set the pace. Leaning back he pulled Tony in close until Tony was straddling him. Groaning when Tony broke the kiss to smile down at him before leaning back down and kissing him again.

“Jethro…” Tony whispered, rocking his hips down into Gibbs own. He panted trying to keep his breathing steady, he wanted this. They didn’t often do things sexual, mainly because they wanted to go slow but Tony was getting sick of slow. He knew he wouldn’t be able to handle everything that he wanted, not with his lungs in their current condition so he’d settle for what he knew his lungs could handle.

Leaning down he took Gibbs lips in another passionate kiss, letting his tongue tangle with that of the other man’s. Reaching down he began to fumble with the belt on Gibbs jeans, once that was open he fumbled with the button and pulled the zipper down. Reaching in he grabbed Gibbs’ cock and began lightly stroking him.

Groaning Gibbs sat up slightly and reached down, grasping the younger man’s cock in his hand he began to set a slow rhythm. He leaned in and nibbled at Tony’s ear causing him to gasp.

“Jethro…I…Ohhhh…feels good… OH God…” Tony panted, he was so close already. He’d been thinking about this on and off all day and knew he wouldn’t last long.

Groaning Gibbs released the throbbing length in his hand and grabbed Tony’s wrist stopping the movement. He managed to work his hands into Tony’s sweatpants and get them down and off. Leaving them tangled around one of Tony’s ankles he grabbed his waist and pulled Tony up against him. Growling as their erections lined up and Tony whimpered in pleasure.

Thrusting his hips up so that their erections rubbed together he pulled Tony’s head down for a kiss. Pulling back he whispered into Tony’s ear.

“Yeah Tony. Feels good don’t it? Mmm…wanna see you come just like this…” groaning he gripped Tony’s hip tighter as Tony’s thrusts began to falter. They were both so close, he knew it wouldn’t take much for them to fall over the edge and into oblivion.

“Jeth…Jet…Jethro…Oh God, Jethro…I…” Tony panted leaning down and burying his face in Gibbs neck.

Chuckling slightly he groaned. Oh he knew not being able to scream was driving his young lover crazy. He’d figured out rather quickly that Tony, if given the freedom to, would be quite vocal and loud in bed. The way Tony was positioned gave Gibbs the perfect opportunity to whisper into his ears.

“Yes, Tony. God. Wanna see you come like this while I’m buried inside you. Want to be able to hear you scream my name. Tony…” groaning the last bit Gibbs nipped Tony’s neck just as Tony had done to him.

“Jethro…I…Jethro!” Tony cried out softly, the sound muffled by Gibbs neck as Tony came. Spurts of warm fluid spilling over both of their stomachs and groins. Growling Gibbs gripped Tony’s hips tighter and thrust up a few more times before following the younger man over the edge into orgasm.

Panting Tony lay there, sweaty and sated, Gibbs arms wrapped securely around him. Chuckling softly he sat up slightly, punching Gibbs lightly in the arm he said “That wasn’t fair, Jethro. Teasing me like that.”

“Who said I was only teasing?” he asked smirking up at Tony’s slack jawed expression.

“Well damn!” Tony chuckled. He sure hadn’t pegged Gibbs as one to talk dirty. But. Damn! Tony wasn’t going to complain.

Smiling at him Tony leaned back down and curled up against Gibbs, his head resting on the other man’s shoulder. They both just stared into the fireplace for a little while. Tony had just been drifting off when he was nudged awake.

“Hmmmm?”

“C’mon Tony. We should head up to bed. I don’t know about you but I sure don’t want to have to explain to Kelly about sex just yet.”

“Yeah, neither do I.” Tony said, groaning slightly as he sat up, grabbing his sweatpants and straightening them out before pulling them back up and over his hips.

Shutting the DVD player and TV down Tony carried the blanket he’d laid out back upstairs to be put into the laundry. Stripping once he was in their room he headed into the bathroom, throwing his clothes in the hamper by the door as he passed it and turning on the shower. Smiling as Gibbs walked up behind him and wrapped his arm around Tony and placed a soft kiss on the back of his neck. Stepping away from Gibbs Tony turned and smiled at him before stepping into the shower. Once done they got ready for bed. Crawling into bed next to Tony, whom was going without the oxygen tonight, he placed a soft kiss on his lips before he himself fell asleep.

The next week would pass relatively normal, Gibbs would take Kelly to school and then head to work for his half day. He’d leave around noon and go home. Tony, whom was already becoming restless, was trying to talk Gibbs into letting him go back to work soon. Gibbs had managed to set up a meet for Friday so that Tony could go with him as well. After that Tony had to be at Bethesda for a check-up with Brad. If Tony had his way he’d be back to work come Monday.

Friday eventually rolled around and Gibbs and Tony headed to Kelly’s school. The principal and teacher had been very curious about Tony’s illness and why they had pulled Kelly out of school for a week.

Walking in Tony and Gibbs greeted Mrs. Young and Mr. Muten.

“Gentlemen.” Mr.Muten nodded, not looking up. “I’ll be with you in just a moment, paperwork you know.” He said as he continued writing on something. Setting his pen down he let out a sigh before looking up at the two men seated in his office.

“Mr. DiNozzo, Mr .Gibbs. Mrs. Young and myself have made some headway into the problems that Kelly was having. I pulled the boys and their parents in to my office to speak with them recently. According to the boys, young Kelly here is the one who started all of the altercations.” Mr. Muten paused for a moment before continuing.

“Now, I have had Mrs. Young unobtrusively observing the boys since that meeting and have noticed a rather disturbing pattern of behavior. Kelly does indeed start the altercations but only in defense of the younger children. I have reprimanded all of the boys as well as informed their parents as to the punishment they will receive.”

“I also made a suggestion to Mr. Muten about a way to make the boys think twice about what they are doing.” Mrs. Young said.

“And what would that be?” Gibbs asked.

“Well, every year we hold a sort of job fair. Everyone from K-5 attends. We have stalls set up for different jobs as well as someone who works in that particular field come in and give a speech at an assembly before the children go home. I suggested that this year we invite the parents of the children as well as ask any parents who work in a particular field if they would speak to the school about what they do. I was hoping since you are both federal agents you would be able to come in and give a speech.” Mrs. Young told the two.

“We’d have to clear it with the director first.” Tony told her.

“That’s fine. Also if you know of anyone else that would be willing to speak with the children we would appreciate it.

“Well I did work for the Baltimore Police so I could also speak about that as long as the director doesn’t mind.” Tony told her before continuing on.

“Now, Jethro also said you wished to know the reason why Kelly was pulled from school for a week. For once it’s not classified information but I am only going tp say that it was work related, something which landed me in Bethesda Naval Hospital because I was very ill.” Tony said.

“Was? I still say you should wait another week to go back to work.” Gibbs said.

Nodding both Mrs. Young and Mr. Muten could see that there was a more complex version of the story. One which neither man wanted Kelly to know.

“Well, on a different note Kelly is doing well with her punishment. It seems that the younger children adore her from the reports we are getting, also a few of the teachers suggested that she be tested because she seems to be well advanced for her age group. That is ultimately up to you but if she is tested she may very well be able to advance a grade depending on how gifted she is.” Mr. Muten told the two.

“We’ll talk about that and let you know Mr. Muten” Gibbs told the man.

“If that is everything I have an appointment with Brad.” Tony said getting ready to stand.

“Brad?” Mrs.Young questioned.

“Yes. Dr. Brad Pitt my pulmonologist and before you ask no he’s not related to the actor.” Tony said, chuckling at the remembered comment Brad had made.

“I see. That is everything. Let myself or Mr. Muten know whether or not you will be able to appear and speak at the assembly.” Mrs. Young said as she was seeing them out of the office.

Once they had left the school they headed to Bethesda to see Brad. Thankfully Kelly thought that Tony had just had a really, really bad case of pneumonia. Once they had seen Brad they decided to head home. He had told both men that Tony should take another week off of work since he had it but it seems Tony had decided not to and Brad knew there was no sense trying to talk sense into the man. Hopefully Gibbs could but it was unlikely.

What neither man knew was that the following Monday at work would be one that would never be forgotten.

~Monday, NCIS, Elevator~

“You’re sure you’re up for this?” Gibbs asked turning to look at Tony.

“Never felt better” Tony told him. He knew that wasn’t true though because Tony hadn’t been able to sleep and he’d also been up coughing in the middle of the night the past two days.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Ya look like crap.” He told the younger man. It was true to an extent. He was just hoping that Tony would just go home and take the rest of his sick leave. Plus he knew he had to get back into his tough exterior for the rest of his team. They had agreed that they could find out on their own but they wouldn’t tell them, though they suspected Ducky knew or suspected the truth.

“I love you too Boss” Tony said with just a hint of sarcasm to have Gibbs unsure if it was supposed to be a joke or not.

“You’ve got another week of sick leave coming Tony. You should take it.” Gibbs told him.

“You know I was going crazy at home, Jethro.” Tony said, his voice low.

“I know Tony. Still think you should take the rest of your sick leave though.”

“I know Boss. I may not be one hundred percent yet but you know me.” Tony said a slight smile on his face.

Nodding Gibbs turned back around to face the doors when they opened and let the two of them onto their floor.

Kate was on the phone and both her and McGee ignored him. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to sit down before they were out the door with a new case. Two dead sailors had been found in a car off Route 17.

Tony and McGee had talked to the state troopers who had responded to the 911 call and gotten what they had learned while Gibbs and Kate had started to process the scene.

Kate had just bagged the cloth that had hidden the removed hand of the driver when Tony came down the embankment saying something about the mustang’s tags and promptly fell on his ass and started to tumble down the embankment instead of walking down it like he had been.

Gibbs told Kate to help him up while he went to find out where the hell Ducky was. While Gibbs was up with Ducky, Kate and Tony had started to process the scene. They were temporarily distracted by their argument and the ensuing incident. Kate ended up with a snake wrapping around her leg. One which Tony thought was poisonous that turned out not to be.

Kate had kicked him and he happened to look over and underneath the car when he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

“Freeze! McGee Don’t move! Car’s wired to explode. Looks like the detonator’s tied to the trunk.” He exclaimed standing up and moving behind the car next to McGee.

“How far did you turn the key?” Kate asked McGee, who wasn’t sure. He thought he might have turned it all the way.

“Don’t let it snap back. Alright?” Tony said as he insinuated himself into McGee’s position. Grabbing the key from McGee’s hands and making sure he had a good hold of it before telling him to let go.

“Okay, Both of you run!”

“No Tony we’re not leaving you sta…” Kate began but Tony promptly interrupted her.

“I’m a lot faster than you are. I’ll be right behind you. This is not a debate! Okay? This thing might be primed already.” He saw them run up the embankment out of the corner of his eye. He really should have taken that extra week. Shit! He just hoped that he would have enough time to make it up the embankment before the car exploded. He knew that normally he was faster than both Kate and McGee but his lungs were still healing from his bout with pneumonic plague. Someone out there had it out for him that’s for sure.

Up on the road Gibbs was on the phone when he noticed Kate and McGee running up the bank.

“It’s the car!” Kate yelled.

“It’s wired to…!” McGee shouted before being cut off by the loud explosion. Ducky and Palmer both ducked even though they were well clear of any falling debris. Once the flames had receded Gibbs, Kate and McGee all turned towards where the car had been.

“TONY!!!!!” Kate’s shout had his blood turning to ice in his veins as he looked for any sign of his senior field agent and lover.

TBC…

AN: Not sure how well this chapter flowed but hopefully I did okay. Translations Below (Remember these are Italian unless noted)

Zio-Uncle

Zia-Aunt

Nonno-Grandpa

Piccina-little one

(1)Okay I don’t mean anything by using the Brooklyn accent but every time I hear certain accents (Brooklyn, New Jersey, etc…)I think of those old Alfred Hitchcock films and the multitude of mobster movies around. Most of them have a similar accent (unless it’s Russian Mafia) and that’s kinda what I was thinking of. I use ain’t saying everyone from those areas are involved in something bad just that that seems to be the commonest accent used in movies. I know someone from that area and I always get a kick outta the accent…It makes me wanna watch mobster/mafia movies for some reason.

(2) Yes, if unexperienced in the ways of homemade drinks then you will fall on your ass. Actually this is one of those drinks that tends to creep up on you and before you know it*bam* you’re flat on your ass or bowing to the porcelain god known as the toilet. No It’s never happened to me (I grew up with this of course it hasn’t) just I’ve seen it happen.

(3) Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Written and Directed by Mel Brooks in 1993. This is a comedic take on the ageless story of Robin Hood. Mel Brooks himself even played a role, that of Rabbi Tuckman. Cary Elwes(Robin Hood) is joined by Dave Chappelle{in his first big screen role}(Ahchoo), Richard Lewis(Prince John), Tracy Ullman(Latrine), and a whole host of others in this funny movie. Obviously it was inspired by the fable Robin Hood and is a comedic take on the tale. Mel BrooksProduced, Directed, and wrote the screenplay for this film. If you haven’t seen it yet I suggest you do. It’s only rated PG-13 (not that that stopped me from watching it when it came out in 93 and I was only in Kindergarten.) so is safe for most kids. I wasn’t most kids so I was watching it when I was younger then Kelly. Of course nowadays parents get in trouble for spanking a kid so things have changed.


	9. Chapter Eight

_Previously on L’amore vale Sempre la Pena…_

_Tony was released from the hospital and spent time recovering. Met with Kelly’s principal and saw Dr.BradPitt. Going back to work a full week earlier the team gets a call out to a crime scene. There’s a bomb under the car and Tony makes Kate and McGee run while he deals with it._

_“It’s the car!” Kate yelled._

_“It’s wired to…!” McGee shouted._

_*KA-BOOM!*_

_An explosion from the area of the car has everyone ducking for cover. Kate turns around when she realizes there is a member missing._

_“TONY!!!!!” Kate’s shout had his blood turning to ice in his veins as he looked for any sign of his senior field agent and lover._

…….

** Chapter Eight **

His blood ran cold at the thought of losing Tony. They had only been together for a few short months but he knew that if he lost Tony now, after everything they had been through, his heart would not survive. He would become closed off again. Yes, Kelly would be there but raising her alone in the house that held so many memories bad and good would be hard on both of them. He could only speculate at what Kelly would be like if her Papà died. He waited with bated breath for Tony to appear over the bank.

Tony had just reached the top of the hill; winded but alive. He managed to get partially over the yellow crime scene tape and say “Boss? Remember when I said I never felt better? I lied” before collapsing into the dirt from over-exertion.

 _‘Thank God. He’s alive. A little worse for wear but alive.’_ Gibbs thought when he saw Tony appear over the top of the embankment. If it weren’t for the fact that now was certainly not the time he would have laughed when Tony told him he’d lied. He’d known that but he also knew that Tony would go crazy of left at home any longer. He had hoped that they wouldn’t get a case but there was nothing he could do about it when they did get one. He knew Tony wouldn’t like having to ride a desk when he had been cleared for light field duty.

Shaking his head he stood up and helped Kate and Ducky to awaken Tony and get him into the truck so he could rest. Once the bodies had been bagged and the evidence collected they headed back to the Navy Yard where he immediately sent Tony to Ducky to be checked out properly.

Kate had been sent with Tony while He and McGee got to work on the evidence. He went down to see how Tony was doing and stood outside of Autopsy listening to the conversation going on inside.

“I’m telling you, I’m fine” Tony mumbled around the thermometer Ducky had shoved in his mouth before wrapping the Pressure cuff around his bicep.

“136 over 84 is not fine for you Tony. Your blood-pressure is high.” Ducky stated whilst removing the cuff and jotting down the notes on the file that belonged to Tony. He had one on all of the members of the MCRT; mainly because most of them refused to go to hospitals.

“Almost getting blown up tends to do that to me. Not to mention, hanging around Kate when she’s in one of her moods” Tony retorted giving Kate a look when he said this.

Tony jumped down off the autopsy table had had been sitting on and almost fell over because of the sudden pain all over. Muscle soreness was just one of the side-effects he would be dealing with because of the explosion and the y-pestis remnants.

“At least your temperature is normal.” Ducky told him.

“Yeah, I’m good to go.” Tony said while buttoning his shirt back up and putting the sleeves back to where they should be.

Ducky’s comment about him not having fully recovered from the y-pestis had Tony grinding his teeth slightly. He didn’t need to rest he needed to get back to work Damnit!

When Kate butted in and agreed with Ducky then told him she should just take him home and get him into bed both he and Ducky looked at her. It wasn’t everyday that Kate said something that even Ducky could turn into an innuendo. Of course if either of them knew about his relationship with Gibbs they probably wouldn’t have seen the innuendo. Kate’s stuttering that she hadn’t meant to say it like that was hilarious.

Gibbs, who was outside, decided this was a perfect opportunity to interrupt and have Kate a little nervous. It was a rare occurrence where he could have Kate getting flustered.

Walking in he asked Kate about what hadn’t come out right and just got a mumbled answer before she turned away and headed up to the bullpen to get to work on trying to identify what they could about the murdered sailors.

He asked Ducky about Tony and got the information before telling Tony he should lay down. Tony’s retort had him giving the man a look that he knew Tony would understand. He spoke quickly to Ducky before heading to the elevators and holding the doors as Tony rushed to catch up to him.

Once in the elevator and on their way up he hit the switch plunging it into semi-darkness. Turning towards Tony he silenced the man with a kiss. Backing Tony up against the far wall of the elevator he broke the kiss before speaking.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again DiNozzo. You should know better than to do something so idiotic as trying to outrun a damn bomb.”

“Sorry, Boss. I thought I could outrun it. I am normally faster than the others at running. I keep forgetting about my lungs though.” Tony said looking down briefly before wrapping his arms around Gibbs.

“Thought you said we were gonna keep it out of the office, Jethro?” Tony whispered into Gibbs ear before nipping it lightly.

Groaning Gibbs pulled away from him before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss then saying “We will be. This is not something that is going to happen every damn case, Understand Tony?”

“Yes Boss” Tony said before leaning in and stealing one last kiss before letting Gibbs hit the emergency switch and the elevator continued heading up to their floor.

Getting off he noticed Kate and McGee were not around and headed to his desk to lay down behind it while Gibbs headed to the Director’s Office.

~Abby’s Lab~

Abby was going over the material from the evidence and wasn't having much luck finding out where it was from. She had looked for any fingerprints, hairs, fibers and any other small particles that were foreign to the original piece of evidence and hadn’t found anything. She moved on to try and piece the bomb together…or what was left of it and wasn’t having much luck.

She had begun running some samples of things that she had found and was seated at her computer when Tony came in and asked to use the futon. She pointed towards her office and told him where it was. He thanked her and said to wake him up shortly.

When Gibbs came down to see how Abby was going on the evidence and surreptitiously check on Tony he had a soft smile on his face seeing Tony asleep. He definitely needed it.

Eventually they figured out what was going on. Ari Haswari was back in the states. No-one was at all happy to learn that he was back. Even Fornell wasn’t happy, especially since he hadn’t been informed until briefly before Gibbs’ team was.

Finding out that Ari was there as part of a terrorist organization, supposedly to stop them from making an attack on US soil but Gibbs and the team all believed differently even though there wasn’t really anything they could do.

Finally they found out why the Naval Officers hand’s had been cut off. The group needed them to get in to a secure base that housed some very dangerous weaponry. The FBI had checked and the new technology was there but the old prototype was gone, something the FBI overlooked but Gibbs and the team caught.

McGee eventually tracked down the target of the attack; A Navy ship full of returning sailors. McGee said that he could disarm it with a certain device. Abby managed to find where they planned to set the attack off from; one of the warehouses near the docks.

Once they arrived they split up to search out the terrorists in the cell. Kate had made Gibbs wear a vest because they had at first thought that Ari was after Gibbs for the payback of having him sent back to the Middle East and for shooting him in the shoulder. Though Ari had started that particular conflict by shooting first Gerald and then Gibbs later on.

Tony, Kate, and Gibbs met on the roof and killed all of the members of the terrorist cell that were there while McGee stayed with the car and began to track down the frequency that the cell was using to guide the missile. He had managed to negate one and had started on the second when shots rang out towards him. He shot back at the terrorist that was shooting at him.

Up on the roof Kate had just taken a hit to the chest to protect Gibbs even though he had his own vest on. She took her protection detail very seriously.

Tony and Gibbs killed the terrorist and then checked on Kate. Thankfully she was alive and the flak jacket had caught the bullet. It hurt like hell but she was alive and so was Gibbs.

As they helped her stand the wind began to suddenly pick up and then a loud bang sounded before Tony groaned.

“Shit! Kate, Gibbs Down!” Tony yelled dragging Kate down as another bang rang out in the air.

Kate’s yelp of pain registered in Tony and Gibbs and they made sure to stay down while checking where Tony and Kate had been hit.

Tony had a non-lethal through and through to his left Bicep. It hurt like hell but Gibbs wrapped it in a field dressing while Tony checked Kate over.

Kate had taken a hit through the vest in the shoulder. It was painful and bloody. Tony could tell she was losing blood fast. The bullet must have nicked an artery when it penetrated.

Gibbs made the call out for back-up and an ambulance while Tony applied pressure to Kate’s wound to stem the bleeding. Now all they had to do was get out of firing range and hope that Kate would make it to the hospital. With the amount of Blood she was losing and how fast she might not make it. All Tony and Gibbs could do was try and stem the bleeding by applying pressure to her wound.

Meanwhile on the rooftop Ari smiled thinking he had dealt Kate an immediately fatal wound from the amount of blood he had seen fly. He didn’t realize that someone had messed with the sights of his scope.

“Sorry Caitlin.” He said to himself with a wide smile on his face as he began to pack up his sniper equipment and head down to his getaway vehicle that waited in the alley next to the building he was perched atop.

He caught sight of Dr.Mallard’s van pulling up to the crime scene and couldn’t help but be glad. Now he had to find a fall guy and let his handlers know that he had nothing to do with Special Agent Caitlin Todd’s death. His father would be none the wiser as to what was really happening right under his own nose.

TBC…..

AN: Okay as I said things will be AU from last chapter on out. Things are going to heat up even more and will diverge and yet not diverge from the original episodes. Now to leave you all to wonder what will happen next and hopefully the next chapter will be much better and easier to write. This chapter gave me fits the whole way through. It was worse than pulling teeth; or making my niece and nephew clean their bedrooms which is practically impossible *sighs*

 

 


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

_Previously on L’amore vale Sempre la Pena…_

_Ari Haswari was back in the US and supposedly stopping a terrorist cell from making an attack. He killed two sailors because of their clearance to get certain weaponry. Tony was almost blown up by a car bomb that Ari placed._

_Gibbs was placed under protection with Kate as the lead agent in charge of protecting Gibbs from Ari._

_A shootout in a warehouse near the docks where the attack on a returning US Naval ship was to be done. Tony, Kate, Gibbs and McGee stopped the terrorists from blowing the ship up with a missile._

_Ari shot first Tony then Kate._

_“Sorry Caitlin.” Ari said to himself with a wide smile on his face as he began to pack up his sniper equipment and head down to his getaway vehicle that waited in the alley next to the building he was perched atop._

_He caught sight of Dr. Mallard’s van pulling up to the crime scene and couldn’t help but be glad. Now he had to find a fall guy and let his handlers know that he had nothing to do with Special Agent Caitlin Todd’s death. His father would be none the wiser as to what was really happening right under his own nose._

**Chapter Nine**

Gibbs stood at the window looking out at the rainy night reminiscing on Kate and how they had met and she came to work for him.

Tony and McGee walked into the bullpen soaked through to the bone and began to report on what they had found. They had found Ari’s sniper nest and deduced that he had been aiming for Kate but because of the sudden wind the bullet had missed and hit Tony before the second shot had hit Kate. They told him that Ari hadn’t policed his brass. The casings were Lapua 308’s. Gibbs told them it was probably a Full Metal Jacket.

When he noticed that they were soaked he told them to go home and change.

McGee after getting one of Gibbs patented glares headed home to change. He had no intentions of staying there though. He planned on coming back to the office as soon as he was in dry clothes.

Once McGee was gone Tony turned to look at Gibbs.

“Jethro…I’m not going home unless you are. Kelly is with Brian and Dom. Come home with me and we’ll pick Kelly up on our way back to the office. I know that Dom and Brian can protect her but I’d feel better if she were here where we can keep an eye on her. Who knows what Ari will do now.”

“Yeah. C’mon Tony. Let’s go get our little girl. I’d feel better if she were here and safe too.” Gibbs said as he looked at Tony’s soaking wet form.

“You shouldn’t have been out in that rain. I’m sorry. You are still recovering from the plague.”

They headed towards the elevator and the parking garage. Once they were home Tony ran upstairs to change while Gibbs called Brian and Dom.

_~ “Torretto Residence.” A sleep roughened voice asked._

“Dominic. This is Gibbs. There’s been an incident. Me and Tony are going to be picking Kelly up shortly.” Gibbs said.

_~ “I’ll let Brian know. What is going on?” Dom asked._

“We’ll explain later.” Gibbs said

~ _”Okay. How long till you get here?”_

“20 minutes.” Gibbs said before hanging up.

On the other end of the phone Dom looked at the phone after hearing the dial tone and shook his head mumbling about Tony’s taste in stoic men.

“Tony are you ready?” Gibbs called up the stairs.

“Yes. Let’s go.” Tony said as he walked down the stairs.

Nodding Gibbs headed out to the car with Tony following behind and locking up as they left.

Once at Dom and Brian’s house Tony and Gibbs went up to the door and knocked. The door was quickly opened and Tony and Gibbs slipped in greeting Brian and Dom as they did so.

“Sorry to wake you guys up but that crazy ass is back in the states. The one who shot Gibbs. He…” Tony paused to take a deep breath.

“He shot Kate. Who knows who he’ll go after next; I want you guys to stay inside and not go anywhere until one of us calls you.” Tony finished as Gibbs followed Dominic upstairs to Kelly’s bedroom.

“Damn man. Don’t worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. I’ll call the others and let them know to keep an eye out just in case and we’ll keep an eye out here. You be careful in hunting this asshole down ya hear Tony?” Brian said just as Gibbs and Dom came down the stairs, Kelly in Gibbs arms.

“Jethro. Ready?” Tony asked his lover who nodded and they headed out to the car with a few last words to the two men.

Gibbs gently placed Kelly into the back of the car as Tony climbed into the passenger seat with her overnight bag.

Once they were back on the road Tony turned to Gibbs.

“Jethro we should probably let Director Morrow know what’s going on.”

“I will when we get back to the yard. It’s going to be a long night. I want you to take Kelly down to Abby’s lab. It’s the safest place for her right now other than the morgue and I don’t want her there.”

“Me neither, Jethro. Kelly is going to have nightmares as it is. If she…” Tony couldn’t finish the sentence.

Gibbs grabbed Tony’s hand in his and brought it to his lips before dropping their entwined hands down to the seat.

“I love you Tony. I know I don’t say it but I do.  
 Gibbs said looking into Tony’s eyes as they waited at a red light.

“Ti amo anch'io Jethro. Ti amo anch'io.” Tony replied leaning in for a quick kiss just as the light turned green.

Smiling Gibbs hit the gas and not long after they pulled into the parking area of NCIS.

Tony Carried Kelly down to Abby’s lab while Gibbs went for coffee before he had to go and talk to Tom.

When Tony got to Abby’s lab he smiled as he put a finger to his lips.

“Shhh. I’m just gonna go lay her down on the couch in your office and I’ll be right back out.”

Nodding she gave him a watery smile as he went into her office. When he came back out he gave her a hug.

“Why? Why did it have to be Kate?” she asked him.

“I don’t know Abbs. Because Ari is an asshole and wants to hurt everyone around us most likely. It’s why we brought Kelly here. It’s the safest place for her.” He told her as she released him. Just then the window to the lab broke as a shot was fired inside the lab. Abby screamed as Tony dragged her down to the floor.

Outside Gibbs was walking past the window when the bullet whizzed past him and shattered the window near him. He heard Abby scream and dropped his coffee and ran.

_‘Please let them be okay. Abby, Tony or Kelly better not have been hit. Please let them not have been hit’_ he thought as he ran into the building and headed for the lab.

~Abby’s Lab~

“You hit?” Tony asked Abby as he lay on top of her covering her with his own body.

“No…You’re heavy though.”

“Sorry” Tony said as he crouched over her and pulled her by her arm over to lean against some cabinets out of view of the window.

“God no wonder you’re so heavy Tony, you’re all muscle.” Abby said as she copped a feel of his thighs.

Abby, Shhh” he told her as he pulled his gun out of its holster and moved onto her other side looking up over the top of the cabinets.

“Packing a nice booty too,” she said as she patted his ass.

“Hey!” he said a bit indignantly

“Is this how you deal with being shot at?” he asked as he turned to sit next to her,

“I don’t know. It’s my first time” she told him with a shaky smile.

“Abby?!? Tony?!? Kelly!?!” they heard Gibbs call out as he ran into the room and turned the lights off making his way to where they were seated.

“Boss! Down! We’re taking fire!” Tony said as Gibbs made his way to them.

“Where’s Kelly?” Gibbs asked once he was over with them.

“She’s in Abby’s office. Let me go check on her.” Tony said as he began to stand up.

“Hey! What if he has a night vision scope?” Gibbs asked as he grabbed Tony over Abby.

“Good Point boss. I’ll stay down. Should I bring Kelly to you?” Tony asked.

“Yes and when you’re down close off Anacostia Park between the bridges. Tell Metro cops it’s a crime scene then meet me back in the bullpen.” He told Tony as Tony began to crawl off in the direction of the office. Once Tony had brought a wide awake and silently crying Kelly to him and Abby he nodded and Tony was off after giving Kelly a kiss and telling her he’d be right back.

Once he had Abby and Kelly back in the bullpen he went to talk to Ducky and told him that Ari had taken a shot at Abby. Ducky was shocked and asked if she was okay. He told her she was fine and that Tony was up in the bullpen with her and Kelly. Ducky nodded as Gibbs walked out and said he was going to see Ari dead.

He sent Abby down to help McGee and made sure that Kelly was with her. When Tony came down and told him that Ari hadn’t policed his brass again and that the director wanted to see him he shared a look with him before heading for the elevator and MTAC.

Tony smiled softly and picked Kelly up before carrying her up to the bullpen and sitting at his desk with her.

~%MTAC%~

Gibbs walked in and took a seat next to Director Morrow and began telling him about the brass they had found and how far away Ari had taken the shot from. Director Morrow thought it was an extraordinary shot for a sniper.

“No, not really sir” Gibbs said to him.

“You were a sniper in the Corps. Weren’t you?” Director Morrow asked.

“Two Tours.” Gibbs responded.

“Vietnam?” Morrow asked.

Laughing slightly Gibbs said “I’m not that old sir. Panama and Desert Storm.”

“Thought you were older” Director Morrow responded before quieting and watching the op on the screen in MTAC. Once the target had been taken care of he asked Gibbs where he was and Gibbs responded by telling him that he had been avoiding using Ari’s name and the word sniper in the same sentence.

They talked a little more before he told Gibbs that he had better cover his ass when he brought Ari in.

“Won’t be a problem sir. I won’t be bringing him in” Gibbs told him.

Morrow looked at him and stood up saying “Anyway, you’re not my problem anymore Jethro.”

“You firing me sir?” Gibbs asked.

“I’ve been offered a Deputy Director’s position at Homeland Security” he said in response.

“You’d leave NCIS sir?” Gibbs questioned.

“Well, the agency could use some younger blood.” Morrow said.

“Who’d be replacing you sir?” Gibbs asked.

Director Morrow just smiled which had Gibbs immediately on guard.

“Not Me!” he said adamantly. He didn’t want to be the director. He hated the politics.

“Much as I like you Jethro, I would not shoot NCIS in the head.” He told Gibbs as he walked down the aisle before saying “He’s your problem now director.”

A woman stood up and turned around smiling and said “Hello Jethro.”

Gibbs had a brief moment of stunned silence as his mind flashed back to him and the woman fucking in a bed before his mind super-imposed images of him and Tony in some similar positions.

“Should we skip the ‘you haven’t changed a bit’ bull?” the redhead asked.

“Why start lying to each other now Jen.” He said curtly.

“Any problem taking orders from me?” the newly named Jen said.

“As director or as a woman?” he asked just to be a bastard.

“Either.”

“It was six years ago. The past won’t be a problem. You were a damn good agent, especially undercover.” He said while thinking _‘At least it won’t be a problem unless you make it one. I’ve moved on and I have no intentions of letting anyone, let alone and old flame, ruin that’_

“Jethro” Jenny said with an overly sweet smile. He knew that look. Had seen it on plenty of exes’ faces. She wanted to get back with him he could tell. Well it wasn’t gonna happen.

“Madame Director” he said curtly, hoping to piss her off. It seemed to have worked.

He headed out of MTAC with Jenny following him arguing with him about Ari being the sniper. He told her he had to go change and that they’d continue the conversation on the way to his house so he could change. As they walked past he gave Tony a look, rolling his eyes as she continued talking. He knew Tony would understand.

While he was gone a woman, Ziva David, showed up and attempted to flirt with Tony. When Gibbs got back Tony stood up and walked over to him. Gibbs asked him about the woman there.

“Ziva David. Mossad. She’s here to stop you from whacking Ari”

“Director Jenny Sheppard. Same Mission.” Gibbs said in response.

“Really? What Agency?” Tony asked.

“Ours.” Gibbs said. His tone telling Tony that there was a deeper reason for Gibbs’ dislike of Director Jenny Sheppard. Just as the Director and Ziva had started in on Gibbs about Ari’s innocence a little girl’s voice rang out.

“Daddy! Papà!”

Tony and Gibbs shared a look briefly as they turned and Gibbs picked up Kelly holding her close and kissing her cheek.

“Daddy, Papà. Zia Abby won’t tell me where Zia Katie is! She promised to show me how to do a handstand.” Kelly pouted looking between Tony and Gibbs.

“Jethro? Is there something you’re not telling me?” Jenny asked, her eyes darting between Gibbs, Tony and Kelly.

“Who’re you?” Kelly asked.

Tony plucked Kelly out of Gibbs arms and said “Kelly, sweetheart this is the new Director of NCIS, Jenny Sheppard.”

“Oh. How’s come she call you by your name Daddy? I thought only Nonno Ducky, Papà and the FIB guy that always says Papà’s last name wrong did?” Kelly asked of Gibbs.

_‘Well if you want something to get out just tell it to a kid.’_ Tony thought as he and Gibbs shared a look over Kelly’s head.

“Director, can we speak with you in private?” Gibbs asked. Getting a nod in response Gibbs turned to Tony and asked him to call Abby up to the bullpen to watch Kelly while they spoke with the Director. Nodding Tony did that and waited for her and McGee as Gibbs and the Director went up to her office. Once Abby was there he kissed Kelly on her forehead and told her that him and Gibbs would be right back down. Once he was in the director’s office he could feel the tension in the air. He stood next to Gibbs while the director gathered her thoughts.

“What is going on Jethro?”

“Director. Kelly is mine and Tony’s daughter. It’s a very long story but in short Kelly didn't die like I thought. Tony adopted her and when we found out instead of putting Kelly through some messy legalities they just moved in with me that way she didn’t gain one parent and lose another. Understood?”

“Oh…Uhmm…Of course. That explains things.” Jenny said, fumbling over her words slightly.

Nodding Gibbs and Tony turned around and left not noticing the contemplative look on the new Director’s face. They walked back down into the bullpen to begin their search for proof of Ari’s guilt.

Ziva hadn’t been privy to the information of Kelly being Tony’s daughter as well. She had been on the phone when Kelly had interrupted. Even though Mossad had done Dossier’s on Gibbs, Tony, and the rest of the team that had been one fact that had escaped notice. His frat boy womanizing hadn’t though. Ziva had no idea just what Tony was capable of nor what he was really like and she would get quite the shock when she learned what he was really like.

Tony said he was gonna go tail Ziva in case she met with Ari. She was Ari’s handler for Mossad after all. Gibbs nodded and after Tony gave Kelly a kiss he headed out after Ziva. He followed her to her hotel and hung around as she traded bathrobes in the hotel’s swimming pool. He’d had to do some quick and creative thinking when the other woman had caught him being a bit nosy.

Thankfully he had managed to get the information and he called Gibbs and told him about the fake french passport that had Ari’s picture but not Ari’s name. A forgery so he could get out of the country. He spoke with Gibbs who sent Kelly to be with Abby and Ducky and then went to speak with Tony while bringing him a pizza he’d nicked from the night shift because Tony had asked for something to eat.

He headed back to the office and noticed that Ducky had left. He’d told the man not to go anywhere but when he didn’t come back even though he’d said he was going to meet Gerald and bring him back here he began to get worried. He had Abby and McGee run a trace on their cell phones and then went after them. When he got to the area that McGee said their cell phones were he began to get even more worried there was no sign of Ducky or Gerald or either of their vehicles. He called Ducky’s phone and found it in the grass across the street from where he had parked and not two feet away he found Gerald’s phone. While he was on the phone McGee said Gerald had just walked into NCIS. He told them that Ari had used him to get Ducky out of the office and into a meet with him. Ari had just let him go but had taken Ducky and Ducky’s Morgan in exchange. He’d rushed right here to let Gibbs know what had happened.  Gibbs immediately rushed to his vehicle and began to search for Ducky or his Morgan. He called Tony to let him know what was going on and that he was out looking for Ducky. He’d already alerted the airports and Homeland Security about the passport so that if Ari did try and get on a plane he would be detained.

Tony told him about Ziva knowing that he had been on her tail and that she had not left the Hotel since. He told Tony to go back to the office and stay with Kelly until he called and to let him know immediately if Ducky showed back up at the office.

As Gibbs drove looking around for Ducky’s Morgan he was hoping that he wouldn’t find him with a hole in his head. It was raining hard and that made things even more treacherous. Then from out of nowhere Gibbs spots Ducky’s Morgan and swerves in front of it. When Ducky gets out and says that Ari didn’t do anything to him just wanted to talk and stress the fact that he wasn’t the one who had shot Kate. Gibbs was pissed because Ari had once again escaped.

Meanwhile in an unknown location a young man sat in a hospital room where a woman was on a ventilator holding her hand.

“Ti voglio bene amica mia, guarisci e torna a casa. Per favore non morire. Ci manchi.” The young man whispered into the comatose female’s ear before standing and wiping at the stray tear that fell from his eye. As the man turned to leave he thought he heard a whispered “Thank You…” but when he turned around to look he saw that nothing had changed and he turned and left.

TBC…

 

AN: Translations

Ti amo anch'io - I love you too

Ti voglio bene, guarisci e torna a casa. Per favore non morire. Ci manchi. - I Love you my friend, please get better and come home. Please don't die. We all miss you.

 


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

 

They had been searching for Ari for awhile now. Someone had taken a potshot at the new director and it was pissing Gibbs off. Especially as Kelly could be in danger and he knew Tony felt the same way. They just wanted to get the bastard because of what he’d done to Kate.

They were retracing their steps and keeping a close eye on Ziva when the call came in. Wanda Smith had noticed her ex-brother-in-law, Clint, lurking around her apartment building and it had her scared. She’d immediately called Tony who had relayed the message to Gibbs. They asked her to come in to the office to fill out a report as well as get reassigned to another protection detail. She agreed and began to ready herself to go out. She had just started her car and was putting it in drive when someone came up to her window and tapped it, leaving it in drive with her foot on the brake she rolled her window down partially and asked if she could help the man standing at her window.

He gave her a devilish smirk and said “Yes, I have a message from your husband.”

That’s when she noticed his hand reaching for something in his jacket her mind screamed at her to run and so she floored the pedal, peeling out of her parking space and almost colliding with a tractor trailer. She heard the sound of a gunshot echoing somewhere behind her but she was too scared to turn around and look. She drove as fast as she could to the NCIS building and safety.

Once in the building she headed straight for the third floor where the MCRT was located. Once there she went straight to Tony’s desk and collapsed from her adrenaline rush. He noticed that she had a graze on her head and turned to McGee.

“Call Ducky. Have him come up here. Let him know that Miss Smith is here.” he told McGee.

Turning back to Wanda Smith he let her know that Ducky would be on his way to look her over.

Once Ducky had arrived on the floor he went straight to the young lady sitting at Tony’s desk. As he began to assess the damage he began telling her a story of his youth, being interrupted by Tony’s impatient questions.

“Anthony you spend too much time with Jethro. You are becoming as impatient as he is.” Ducky chastised lightly before continuing.

“She will not need to go to hospital as the wound does not appear to be that deep. Just a light graze to her temple. As you well know Anthony, head wounds often appear worse that what they are. That being said she is very lucky to have escaped are far worse fate. I for one would like to know how things came about” Ducky said, turning back to the young woman with a softly curious gaze on his face.

Nodding, Tony turned to Wanda as asked her to tell him what had happened after her phone call to him earlier.

“I was getting ready to come here, had been about to pull out of my lot when a guy knocked on my window. I rolled it down and asked if he needed anything. He…He…he said he had a message from my husband! I…n..n..noticed that his h..h..ha..hand was moving and p…p…pan…panicked. I hit the gas and drove here as fast as I could” she half sobbed. It was obvious that the adrenaline of her mad dash here had started to wear off and so came the hysterics.

“Did you get a look at his face?” Gibbs asked her, his voice less gruff than it normally was due to her very recent encounter. He shared a look with Tony. They both had a soft spot for this young woman, she had been through so much throughout her short life and they both felt like overprotective older siblings to her because of the continuous contact that they had with her because of her case that remained open only due to the fact that the man that had murdered the dead marine was still on the loose.

“Yes…Not a very good one though.” Wanda told him as she wiped her face of the tears.

“Think you could work with our Forensics expert on a sketch of your assailant’s face?” Tony asked while picking up the phone readying himself to call Abby.

“Maybe…I’m not sure. I’ll try though.” Wanda replied, her voice still shaky.

Nodding Tony made the call to Abby letting her know that Wanda was going to come down and give a description of a man who had just made an attempt on her life. He then had McGee take Wanda down to Abby’s lab while him and Gibbs made some calls.

A few hours later Abby called Gibbs and Tony down to her lab to look at the completed sketch.

“Gibbs you’ll never believe it! We have the evidence we need to take him out!” Abby told him bouncing on the balls of her feet. They both looked at her questioningly before turning to the computer that held the sketch of Wanda’s assailant.

When Gibbs and Tony looked at the computerized sketch that Abby had made using Wanda’s description of her assailant they barely held back their gasps. Gibbs gave a half-smile at the sight. This was just the evidence they needed to prove to the director that Ari was not a good guy. You’d think he would have been smarter than this, letting a target get away like he had. Though, the fact that Ari had taken on the role of a hit man for some low life with a grudge showed just how desperate the man must be, especially considering they had managed to make sure that he could not leave the country.

_‘He should have stuck with being a sniper and not gotten up close and personal with this one. He is either very desperate or too confident in his abilities.’_ Gibbs thought.

“He must either be very desperate or overly confident and arrogant” Tony said, echoing Gibbs thoughts a moment earlier.

Gibbs took the printed version of the sketch Abby had done and headed up to Jenny’s Office. She had been stuck there doing paperwork which was just as well; she couldn’t interfere too much with his plans while there.

He just nodded to Cynthia and headed straight into her office and tossed the sketch down on her desk.

“From a would-be victim of Ari’s. She’s lucky to be alive at all. Now will you let me go after him?” he said without preamble.

She looked at him then at the sketch, a muscle in her eye and jaw ticking. Oh she was pissed to have been played.

“I wil call Ziva. She is his handler after all. She will be able to help us into getting him here.”

Nodding Gibbs turned and headed back to the bullpen to await the arrival of Ziva David.

When the Mossad Agent arrived at NCIS her appearance shocked them. Something had obviously happened in the short amount of time that had passed. She proceeded to tell them that she had her doubts about Ari and had managed to make it so that Mossad would not help him until the issue had been cleared up. It had earned her a late night visit from the man that had solidified her decision to wait things out. It also explained the bruising around her cheek and eye. She never saw the pistol that he whipped at her face to knock her out. She had no reason to be on her guard with him other than her niggling doubt.

Almost three hours later they had worked out a plan. Since Ziva had not told Ari of Gibbs’ daughter, Kelly and Tony would stay at the office and Gibbs would head home like he had before Kelly had come back into his life. Ziva would call Ari and tell him that Gibbs had gone home. It wouldn’t be until later that Tony would learn that Gibbs wasn’t the one to have shot Ari but it had, in fact, been his own handler and half-sister Ziva David.

With Ari now taken care of, Ziva on her way back to Israel and Mossad with his body Tony and Gibbs were able to more fully concentrate on the re-emergence of Wanda Smith’s ex-brother-in-law and his attempt to hire a hit man to kill her.

It would turn out to be a very revealing and shocking case.

 

** TBC… **

**AN2: This chapter has been giving me fits.** **My muses have gotten lost in Jareth’s Labyrinth and seem quite content to pop in and out of there like Jareth himself. When they start talking about removing limbs is when I will worry. At the moment they just seem to take a while to get back to me and work on this fic. If the chapters seem disjointed that would be why. I know it’s short and hopefully at a later point when the muses aren’t cavorting with the Firey’s and Sir Didymus I shall endeavor to make this chapter longer and hopefully give it more substance. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me so far. Your comments, polite criticism, reviews, alerts, and the favouriting have often given my muses a burst of inspiration to work on this fic.** **_Spring is in the Air and my muses have_** _**developed a short attention span for the moment. Again Thanks to all who have let me know what they think and hopefully you enjoyed this rather short chapter and will continue to enjoy the rest of this fic**_. **_Also note that I feel a desperate Ari would do anything including harm his own sister hence my changing of the events in Kill Ari Pt. 1 and 2._**

**Original Date 2012-3-8**

**_Edited 2012-4-14_ **


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS. Dr. Gabrielson, however is mine.

**Chapter Eleven**

It had been 3 months. Three months, 4 days, 12 hours and 17 minutes to be exact since that fateful day. The day things had gone to hell in a hand basket; or the Madame Director’s handbag he still wasn’t sure which one was the better analogy. First losing Kate and then tracking Ari to get their Revenge all the while fighting those that would have them drown in red tape and let a killer and traitor like Ari go free.

Madame Director had assigned Ziva David as their Mossad Liaison Officer. Gibbs had been pissed about it. Everyone had. After Ari had been killed they had worked Wanda’s case until the trail of her ex-brother-in-law, Clint, had gone cold. Tony had called Dom and Brian and asked them to set up a security system for Wanda as well as her having Gibbs and his personal numbers stored in her phone on speed dial just in case. Dom’s nephew Jesse had come to see Wanda as a surrogate Aunt and mother figure which Wanda was thrilled about. She enjoyed caring for the recovering young man.

When Clint’s trail had gone cold they had had to leave a false trail so that he wouldn’t find Wanda so easily. The apartment she lived in now is registered under Jesse’s name and the story at the building was that she’s just his home nurse hired by his Uncle to care for him while he’s recovering physically from the shooting that had almost taken his life. Wanda’s address was still listed as living in a different apartment. They were hoping that Clint would pop up again; they want to catch this bastard before he makes another attempt on Wanda’s life.

It was looking to be another boring day filled with boring paperwork.

_~Hospital Room Unknown Location~_

“Hey, sister of mine. The doctor says that you are improving. They took you off the ventilator and say you can possibly hear me. I hope so ‘cause otherwise I’d be crazy. I miss you. We all do. Your niece is getting so big. She misses her Zia a lot and draws pictures for you almost daily. She also prays for you every night. Wishes you would come home already. Though I don’t think she has any plans for giving you your cute dog back. Hey I even got that crazy mutt of yours to like me! I bet that just rankles you don’t it?” here the young man in the chair paused to wipe away a few stray tears before continuing.

“Our little brother is slowly gaining some confidence and starting to grow a backbone. I’m still not sure if that is a good thing or not though. Sometimes it is but others it definitely isn’t…” the man trailed off as a nurse stepped in and motioned him out into the hall.

“Be right back little sister of mine” he said before standing and walking out into the hall where the nurse stood beside the doctor in charge of his sister’s care.

“Dr.Gabrielson is there any news?” he asked.

“Her brain scans came through. It seems as if there is no major damage but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up. We have noticed spikes in her brain activity as well as her heart rate which can mean one of two things. She’s either starting to wake up or she is building up to heart failure. We would like to believe the former which is why I ordered the PET scans and MRI. As far as we can tell she seems to be starting to come out of her coma. We will monitor her even more closely from here on out and call you the moment we know something definitive.”

“Thank you doctor.” He said glancing down at his watch before continuing, “I need to be heading home. Let me know of any changes in her status.”

He then walked back into the room and leaned down and kissed his sister on her forehead.

“I have to go home now. I’ll be back another day. I hope to see you up and around soon. Love you sis.” The man said turning and heading out the door to get home to his lover and daughter.

_ ~Gibbs-DiNozzo Residence~ _

“Kelly! Dinner’s ready!” Tony yelled up the stairs for his daughter. Gibbs had already appeared from the basement where he was working on the boat to relax after the hectic and stressful week they had had at work.

“Coming Papà!” Kelly said as she bounded down the stairs.

“Kelly no running down the stairs.” Gibbs said as she came skidding into the kitchen on socked feet.

“Yes Daddy.” She replied taking her seat as her Papà brought the dish of lasagna over and took his seat next to her.

They talked over dinner. Kelly about school and the new kid, Tanya. She was getting teased because she couldn’t speak English very well seeing as she had been raised in China even though she had been born in America. They continued talking about what Kelly had learned and about the teachers at school and that Abby wanted to take Kelly shopping. Knowing their luck Kelly would come home wearing all black with a tattoo like her Aunt Abby. They had already agreed that when she was 16 if she wanted they would let her get a tattoo but not until then.

Once Dinner was finished, dishes done and the leftovers were in the fridge Tony, Kelly and Gibbs sat down on the couch to watch a movie before sending Kelly to bed for the evening. Seeing as it was a Friday they would let her stay up a little later. Hopefully they wouldn’t get called in this weekend.

As they watched the movie, Lady and the Tramp, Gibbs leaned behind Kelly and snuck a quick kiss with Tony to which Kelly giggled at and made a funny face.

“No kissing Papà, Daddy!” Kelly said before giggling again when both her dad’s began to tickle her before Tony and Kelly turned the table on Gibbs and tackled him. It was a good end to a hectic week. Smiling they settled back down to finish watching the movie.

Once the movie was over and Kelly was settled for the night Tony and Gibbs went downstairs to relax on the couch a bit. They talked about how Jenny had pissed them off that week and how Ziva was assimilating into the team; which was not very well. One she seemed to have a crush on Tony, had no clue on how to process a crime scene, and she pissed Abby off a lot. The crime scene they could deal with it was the crush on Tony and pissing Abby off that irked them.

Though after three months she was starting to learn how to work a scene and seemed to have assimilated the fact that Tony had a daughter. Whether she believed the story that was common knowledge about how Tony came to be raising Gibbs’ daughter they weren’t sure. The culture shock was slowly fading and hopefully she would adapt rather well.

Though their first choice would be to have Kate back with them, but since that was far out of their reach they would deal. They had so far and would continue to. Tony admitted that she could be a great asset to the team within time but that should she ever cross him she would see a side that no-one except his good-for-nothing father had seen. Mainly because he wasn’t the type to let his anger have free reign.

They continued to talk about Kate and how much they wished they could change the events of that fateful day and their thoughts on what Kate would do to Ziva and how she would have reacted had she been around to meet Ziva.

Eventually though they headed up to bed. Once they were laying in bed Tony turned to look at his lover.

“Jethro?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you ever think about how different things would be if Kelly hadn’t gotten hurt that day at school?”

“I try not to. I’m just glad to have you and Kelly in my life now. I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“Ti amo Jethro.”

“Love ya too Tony.” Gibbs replied placing a soft kiss onto the younger man’s lips.

Smiling Tony lay his head down on Gibbs’ shoulder and fell asleep.

The next morning Tony awoke to the sensation of soft butterfly kisses being placed along the back of his neck and shoulder. Sighing softly he smiled and turned his head to look at the one placing those kisses.

“Morning Jethro” he mumbled slightly sleepily.

“Morning Tony.” Jethro smiled down at his lover before leaning in and stealing a kiss from him. They broke apart when they heard the soft padding footsteps coming down the hall.

“Papà? Daddy? Are you awake?” Kelly asked peeking her head in the slightly ajar door. Seeing that both her ‘parents’ were awake she bounded into the room and jumped on the bed, narrowly missing landing on her Papà’s injured knee.

Smiling the two looked at each other before promptly tickling their rambunctious daughter.

“C’mon munchkin, let’s let your Papà get ready while we make pancakes.” Gibbs said picking up his still laughing daughter while Tony stretched and made his way to the bathroom.

Walking downstairs Tony was greeted by more laughter as he walked into the kitchen.

“Did you save me any hot water?” Gibbs asked jokingly when Tony stole a kiss from him and snagged a coffee cup from the cupboard.

“Course I did Jethro. We have a busy day ahead.” Tony said with a smile as he helped Kelly pour a glass of orange juice.

Nodding Gibbs smiled and headed off to take his own shower while Tony finished making the pancakes and eggs.

Twenty minutes later they were sitting down to eat breakfast before heading out to the lumber store. They planned to build Kelly her own play set instead of buying one of the pre-assembled ones. A Family Project was what Gibbs had said to convince Tony to try his hand at woodworking again.

Gibbs had already drawn up the blueprints for the play set and now all they needed to do was get the wood and other items that would be needed to build the set.

The weekend flew by amidst laughter, jokes and plenty of sawdust covered clothing. Abby even showed up ready to help early Saturday afternoon. They had a small cookout for supper and watched Abby head home afterwards. It had been a wonderful weekend and hopefully the week that would follow would be just as calm as the weekend had been fun.

**TBC…**

**HAPPY NEW YEARS! It's officially January 1st 2013.** I can now officially laugh at all of those yahoos that believed the world would end. Why people buy into that shit is a mystery to me. I mean they said it would end with the new millenium, then again in 2006 then again in 2010. It's a publicity stunt people!!! The world will end when it ends...a long long long time in the future. Though Hell has aparently frozen over; my nephew actually made his bed before going to school one morning and he ** never **makes his bed, ever. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas(if you celebrate it) and a safe and Happy New Years Eve.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

**Chapter Twelve**

The weeks seemed to drag on for the MCRT. When they weren’t working a hot case they would work on cold cases and specifically Wanda Smith’s case. Her brother-in-law still had yet to show up anywhere. It seemed to them that he’d gone off-grid. It was frustrating to say the least.

Tony had taken to escaping the tension in the bullpen by sneaking down to Abby’s lab for a little bit almost every day when they weren’t working new cases. At least until Gibbs came and got him. Gibbs knew Tony needed an escape from the tension just like Gibbs did. Only Gibbs preferred to go to Ducky’s office.

When they would get home from a long day they would sit back and relax; helping Kelly with her homework or just sitting down to watch something on TV while Kelly played quietly near them.

She often could tell when her Papà and Daddy had had a stressful day and usually cuddled with them as much as possible. Eventually things seemed to finally settle down into more of a normal routine than a stressful one.

With no leads on the Smith case and no signs of her ex-brother-in-law Wanda felt more comfortable in a relaxing environment and in turn the MCRT…well Tony and Gibbs at least, were able to relax marginally as well. They still checked for anything on a daily basis but for the most part it seemed to have gone cold again.

DirectorSheppard was still clueless as to what went on with the MCRT’s two top agents. They planned to keep it that way for as long as possible. Oh they both knew that she was hoping for another chance with Gibbs but seeing as Gibbs had no interest she had for the most part stayed out of their way.

Abby and Ducky had found out about Tony and Gibbs purely by accident. Ducky had caught a small interaction between the two after Tony had been injured and once alone with Gibbs he had confronted the man about it. Tony had forgotten something in Autopsy and had walked in on the little confrontation. Once Ducky had the full story he was satisfied and gave his congratulations to the two of them.

Abby had walked in on something more than just a small moment. She’d taken Kelly to visit the Smithsonian while Gibbs and Tony went out to get some of Kelly’s Christmas Presents.

 When they had arrived back at the Gibbs-DiNozzo house it was to see Gibbs and Tony locked in a passionate kiss on the couch. Abby had broken them apart by squealing loudly and then giving them both bear hugs before interrogating them both until she was satisfied. Kelly had put her two cents in as well. She loved her Daddy and Papà and didn’t care she had two dad’s. She felt she was the luckiest girl in the world having two dads and a (deceased) mom. Abby was ecstatic that they were together but disappointed she couldn’t lock the two of them in a supply closet.

The days passed and the warm weather cooled off. Spring turned to summer and summer to fall. Halloween then Thanksgiving and soon December was upon them. They had managed to do most of their Christmas shopping already so that was one less thing to worry about.

_~Hospital Unknown Location~_

“Hey sis. I’m sorry I haven’t visited in a while. Things always get busy this time of year. I miss you. We all miss you. There’s a new girl at work. I told you about her before. I’m still not all that comfortable around her. Something just seems off. I wish you were around so that you could help me out here.” A young man paused to collect his thoughts.

He’d walked into her room and had noticed that there was a spike in her brain activity and so had begun talking.

“The doctors say you could wake up at any time. They tell me that you may even be able to hear me. I certainly hope so. We miss you.” He paused to take the young woman’s hand.

“Please wake up soon. It would be the best Christmas present ever. We caught the bastard that hurt you. He won’t ever be able to hurt you again. I brought you some cards and flowers sis…” Here he paused. He could have sworn he felt something. Shaking his head he passed it off as nothing but wishful thinking.

“Your niece misses you a lot. She keeps asking when you’re coming home. You have a new brother-in-law to be. Bet you it will surprise you who though…”

“…”

The young man stared in shock before hitting the call button. He knew he wasn’t imagining this.

“Sis…Sis…You...” just then a nurse walked into the room.

“She’s Awake! Get Dr. Gabrielson!” he yelled before she could open her mouth to speak.

The nurse looked at the young man and then to the bed where in fact they young woman stared at her blearily. She turned around and ran to the desk.

“Paging Dr. Gabrielson... Dr. Gabrielson to the Coma Unit! Emergency. Dr. Gabrielson to the Coma Unit!” was heard over the loud speaker and shortly afterwards the doctor and several nurses rushed in and began checking the young woman over. They then took her for all kinds of scans as the young man sat there with tears of happiness running down his face.

“Grazie for sending my sorellina back to me.” He whispered to no one in particular. While he waited he made a phone call that was sure to be a very happy one.

“It’s me. She’s awake!” He said happily into the phone. There was a clatter as the person on the other end obviously dropped the phone.

“Amore mio? You ok?”

He listened as the person on the other end responded in the affirmative before asking question after question in quick succession. Chuckling softly he interrupted.

“Calm down love. Yeah she’s fine. They took her for tests. PET, MRI, EMG, Neurophysiology, blood tests, and the works. It might be awhile so I’ll probably be home late.” Here he stopped to let his lover talk.

Shaking his head he responded “No don’t tell our kids. Not yet at least. I want to surprise them.”

_“…..”_

“Amore mio? You okay?” he asked.

_“Yes. Fine”_

“Okay. Ti amo amore mio. I’ll see you when I get home. Don’t wait up okay?”

“Ti amo anch'io” was the response he got before he ended the call.

He sat down in the chair and waited patiently for the nurses to bring his little sister back to her room. As he waited he began to think on the reactions he would get when they finally allowed him to bring her home. The “kids” would certainly be surprised. He sat there for what felt like years before they finally wheeled his Sorellina back into her room. He got up to speak with the doctor about when she would be released into his care.

“Dr. Gabrielson. How soon can she come home?”

“We’ll be moving her into the ICU until all of her tests come back then she’ll have a regular room for at least a month then depending on her progress we will release her into your care.” The doctor said.

“No chance of being released early?” he asked.

“I’m sorry but no. Your sister has just awoken from a coma that has lasted several months and due to her prolonged status we need to be sure she won’t relapse into another coma. If she does the chances of her coming out of it are slimmer than they were the first time.” The doctor explained.

“….” He just stared at the doctor running everything he said over in his mind. “So basically it’s to ensure she makes a full recovery?”

“Yes”

“Ok. I guess. There are a lot of people waiting for her to come home so I guess as long as it’s to ensure she makes a full recovery they’ll have to wait a bit longer.” He said before thanking the doctor and walking back into the room so he could have a chance to talk with her before she inevitably fell asleep and he went home. Sitting down in the chair he grasped her hand in his before clearing his throat.

“Sorellina…I’m glad you came back to us. Everyone has been very worried about you.” he said, his voice slightly choked.

She gave him a small smile and light squeeze to his hand.

“Ho….how long?” she whispered out, her voice rough from disuse.

“Have you been out or have I been sitting here?” he asked with just a bit of cheek. She just gave him a slightly bleary glare that had him laughing and smiling even wider.

“You’ve been in a coma for several months sorellina. I come and sit by your bedside as much as I can with work being as busy as it is.” He told her squeezing her hand as he remembered the pain of thinking she would never come out of the coma. Getting another squeeze in return he smiled at her.

They sat and talked, well he talked and she listened, for a bit longer before her eyes started to drift.

“Go to sleep sorellina I’ll come back as soon as I can.” He whispered standing and placing an affectionate kiss on her cheek he turned and left the room heading for the doors and home to his lover and their kids.

_~Two Weeks later. Same Hospital Unknown Location~_

As he walked into his sister’s room he smiled seeing her sitting up and eating on her own. She had been recovering rather quickly, which continued to amaze the doctors and nurses.

“Hi sorellina. How are you feeling today?” he asked as he took a seat in his customary position next to the bed.

“Better. Wish I could get out of here though. Why do you keep calling me sorellina? She replied. It was a constant question that he had so far been able to avoid answering, but with the news he had he would finally tell her.

“Sorellina means little sister, sorellina.” He told her bluntly. They’d told him she would have problems remembering things as well as with her speech. He had noticed though that she wasn’t slurring as much as she had been when she first awoke which made him all the more proud of her.

“Oh. I should know that shouldn’t I? Don’t answer it was a rhetorical question. How do you say big brother?”

“Fratellone” he replied.

“Figures, fratellone” she said getting a huge smile from him. It made her happy to see him smiling like that. She remembers seeing it only on a few occasions though she surmised she must have seen it more often than what she could remember.

“Do you know when I can go home fratellone?” she asked him hoping that it would be soon.

“Why? Ready to get out of here already sorellina?” he asked her back and got a glare and thrown pillow for his troubles. Laughing he answered her, “They said that at the speed you are recovering you’ll be out in time for Christmas. It will be a wonderful present for those that have been waiting for you and just in time too because I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep from telling the kids about your awakening.”

“I’m not a present fratellone!!!” she replied vehemently.

“I know sorellina. I’m just saying that no-one knows you’re awake and it will make an otherwise happy party ecstatic.” He told her seriously.

“Oh” was the only thing she could say in response. When he put it that way she could see why he was happy.

They sat and talked for a while longer yet. They talked about his lover, the kids, work, her physical therapy and all the annoying tests the doctors were running and about the accident that had put her into a coma for months and the resulting manhunt.

They talked about where she’d be living until she could safely be left alone and return to work. She had freaked out when she realized what moving in with her brother would entail before calming down and then laughing and calling him a teacher’s pet. He ended up joining her in laughing while trying to glare at her at the same time. It was good to have her back.

They talked until he had to leave because visiting hours were over and he had to get home. Saying goodbye he promised to visit her soon and that he would bring more clothes with him while taking the dirty ones to be washed,

_~Christmas Eve-Gibbs-DiNozzo Residence~_

“Tony did you remember to hand the invitations out?” Gibbs asked his lover for the umpteenth time.

“Yes Jethro. Abby, Ducky, McGee, and Ziva all said they would come.” Tony told him sighing at his lover’s worried nature. He knew why though. Tomorrow was a big day for them. It would be their first Christmas together and he wanted everything to be perfect.

It had been a struggle whether to ask Ziva to come or not but recent events had led them to ask her. Her father had sent assassins after her because she had refused to be his pawn or stay in Israel after delivering Ari’s body. Not knowing whom she could trust she had run to Gibbs. It was only last week that it had happened but it had freaked her out. She had been shocked that instead of Gibbs answering the locked door it had been Tony with a sick Kelly in his arms. He had been carrying her up to her bed while Gibbs was in the kitchen cleaning up and having heard the knock on the door he had opened it.

They had stood there in shock before Tony quickly ushered her into the house and to the living room telling her he’d get Gibbs and be down once he’d put Kelly to bed. When he’d come back down it was to see Ziva curled up in a ball at one end of the couch and looking ready to cry, something he didn’t think she was capable of doing. It had certainly shocked him when she had then repeated the story for him. He looked the same as Gibbs had; ready to kill. If it hadn’t been for the fact that they had Kelly they would have got the first available flight to Israel to do just that; kill Eli David.

The three had ended up talking long into the night and letting Ziva crash on the couch while they had gone to bed. They’d awoken to laughter from Kelly and Ziva. They had figured out that Ziva would be more trustworthy now than ever before. They had also called Director Sheppard and given her a more edited version which had prompted her to call in a few favors to get Ziva started on her citizenship and make Ziva an official Probationary Agent. She knew that Eli David wouldn’t be happy but that with Ziva being an American Citizen it would be harder for the man to get at her through official and unofficial means unless he wanted to risk making things even more stressed between America and Israel than they already were.

They had come to a rather quick realization that Ziva loved children and was wonderful with them. It had helped them to trust her and her to trust them and they had forged a bond with her because of it. The end result was that she was even more a part of the family than before and they knew exactly where her loyalties lie; and it wasn’t with Jen Sheppard or Eli David. She had even given them some dirt to use against the Director should she ever step out of line.

Shaking his head at the reminiscing he was doing he called out to his lover in the kitchen “Did you remember to give Fornell his invitation?”

“Yes Tony. Not sure if he’s going to make it though. He said he might pop in for a bit if he could though. I’m still waiting to see his reaction to just who it is that has me willing to celebrate Christmas…” his lover trailed off as he was tackled by their now 9 year old daughter.

Laughing Tony went into the kitchen and joined in with Kelly in trying to tickle Gibbs. It was going to be a wonderful day indeed.

TBC…

AN: I know that I am messing with the timeline but I think that it makes the plot of this fic flow much better. It will become apparent as the seasons go on just WHY I had Ziva getting her citizenship during Jenny’s reign. I’m not a Ziva hater I just don’t like the whole Tiva thing. I originally wanted to stick as close to the plotline of the original series as possible but the muses wanted to go a different route hence Ziva getting citizenship earlier. Plus I never liked Eli David and Jenny Sheppard so this also gave me a believable way to have the boys get dirt on Jenny while also pulling one over on her as she would think that Ziva would be more loyal to her while in fact the boys and Ziva were only using her. Gibbs words ring true in that “ass kissing on the hill is a skill” and he is using that skill to his advantage. That and I like Ziva as long as she keeps her paws off of Gibbs’ man. The banter between them is kind of reminiscent of the banter between Tony and Kate to a point and I can see him thinking of her as another little sister to protect even if neither woman actually needed/needs it. Comments and Criticism are gladly accepted as long as it’s cordial. Flamers WILL be prosecuted with a “Trial by Dragon” reminiscent of the first task in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Only more deadly. They will also receive a healthy dose of Snape-esque sarcasm and rudeness back. That and those flames will be used to light my bonfires along with plenty of flammable materials.

Sorellina-little sister

Fratellone-big brother

Amore mio-my love

Ti amo amore mio-I Love You My Love

Ti amo anch'io- I love you too

Grazie-thank you


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

**Chapter Thirteen**

_~Christmas Morning~_

Knowing that Kelly would be antsy to open her presents Tony and Gibbs got up early and headed downstairs. Tony started getting the Dinner ready while Gibbs lit the fire in the living room. Once those tasks were done Gibbs took over for Tony so he could get ready to leave. They had a very special guest coming today and Tony needed to leave so he could be back shortly after everyone arrived. They had already worked out what the story would be as to why Tony was gone if anyone asked or commented on it. Kelly had already been told that her Papà had to pick up one last and very special present and wouldn’t be home until a little after noon. Kelly had been a little upset but understanding all the same.

She was smart for a nine year old and knew that there was something big happening but didn’t know what it was. She had tried to sneak up on her parents but had been unsuccessful as of yet. She just hoped that whatever her Papà was doing would be safe. She hated seeing either man injured and being the daughter of two NCIS agents she had seen both men injured. It scared her when they would come home hurt or if they had to stay in the hospital. She wasn’t sure why either and everyone else attributed it to her subconsciously remembering the crash that had killed her mom and almost killed her. She didn’t know that though.

While Gibbs was working on their dinner Kelly sat coloring and waiting for everyone to arrive. She had come running down the stairs excitedly but been told that she couldn’t open any presents until after everyone had arrived. She had pouted and wheedled and whined but hadn’t gotten her way in the end. She wasn’t a spoiled brat like that kid down the street was; she just wanted to have fun now and not wait. Plus the sooner the presents were opened the sooner they could eat and she had quite the appetite like her Papà. It was something everyone marveled at.

Around 11:00 the first guests began to arrive. Abby was the first to show up with three bags filled to the brim with presents for everyone. Kelly had been ecstatic to see her Aunt/Big Sister. She had tackled her as soon as she was able to which had Abby laughing and swinging her around in a huge Abby Hug. She loved Abby Hugs. The next person to arrive had been Ducky. He had brought one bag filled with gifts for everyone. He had also gotten a rather enthusiastic hug and an exclaimed “Nonno Ducky!” from Kelly.

Then McGee came also with one bags of gifts and Ziva followed with one bag as well. Ziva was unsure of the holiday but had managed to get help from Abby who had forgiven her to a point. She wasn’t mean to her like she had been but they still weren’t the best of friends like Abby and Kate had been.

Once everyone was settled in the living room on the various furniture Abby had voiced the question on everyone’s mind.

“Gibbs where’s Tony?” she asked.

“Papà had to run to the store. He forgot something special. He should be back soon” Kelly told her.

Nodding Abby smiled while wondering just what Tony had forgotten. It wasn’t something she thought he was capable of especially as she knew he had gotten all the shopping done ahead of time. She would hold her tongue though as it was obvious Kelly didn’t know what was going on either and she didn’t want to upset the young girl.

_~Hospital Unknown Location~_

A young man strolled through the corridors of the hospital that his sister was in with a smile on his face. Walking past the nurse’s station he smiled and waved before continuing on to his little sister’s room. Over his shoulder hung a small duffel bag that held a change of clothes and some personal hygiene products for her to use.

“Good morning sorellina. Are you ready to get out of here?” he asked as he walked into her room to see her sitting on the edge of the bed with the hospital gown top and a pair of pajama bottoms on underneath. The withering glare she sent him caused him to laugh.

“Yes fratellone. I’m more than ready to get out of here. Tell me that bag holds proper clothing.” She said once he got his laughter under control.

Nodding he handed her the bag of clothes and said “Yes, sorellina. Real clothes. Nice comfy dress pants and modest button up blouse, undergarments, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and socks and boots. I’ll call in one of the nurses if you want me to.”

“Grazie fratellone. No, I can get showered and dressed by myself. Just help me to the bathroom per favore?” she pleaded with her eyes and voice.

“Of course sorellina.” He told her as he once again took the bag from her and slung it over his shoulder before helping her to stand on unsteady legs and walk to the bathroom. Helping her into the seat that was installed in the shower he turned around and placed the bag within her reach after pulling out the clothes.

“Grazie.” She whispered gratefully.

“Prego” he responded before walking into her room to begin packing up her belongings whilst she showered and dressed.

It was about thirty minutes later when a slightly muffled voice called out, “Fratellone please can you come help me?”

“Of course.” He said standing and peeking into the bathroom. His sister sat on the closed toilet with her pants and shirt on but neither were buttoned, a soft blush stained her pale cheeks.

Smiling softly at her he decided to forego the normal teasing he would have done, especially as the doctor had told him about her current lack of coordination until she got used to fine motor skills once again. The only reason they had released her as early as they had was because she had improved in leaps and bounds and showed no signs of slipping into another coma. They had said there were some things that might suffer though. Kneeling in front of her he buttoned her blouse and pants before rising and steadying her as she too stood. Once she had her balance he stepped away but stayed close enough that should she need help he would be there. He knew first-hand how testy she could get if she thought she was being treated like less than a capable person. His ribs still smarted from her last attack on them.

“Did they bring your discharge papers by yet?” he asked her once she had settled herself on the edge of the bed to begin the arduous task of putting her socks and boots on.

“Not yet. They said they wanted to wait until you had arrived. Something about some last minute things to go over with you” she replied just as a nurse walked in with the discharge papers and Dr. Gabrielson following a few scant seconds later.

She finished getting ready while her brother talked with the doctor and nurse briefly before they both left. He had a scowl on his face as they did so.

“Seems that you won’t be walking out of here like I had hoped. Stupid hospital policy. They’re bringing a wheelchair down for you and refuse to let me take you myself. They are making me go get the truck and meet them at the entrance.” He told her as he shouldered both bags and made one last quick sweep with his eyes to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.

Grumbling about stupid hospital policies she pouted as a nurse walked in pushing a wheelchair. Placing a quick kiss on her forehead her brother took off down the hall towards the exit so as to have the truck ready and waiting. Complaining to the nurse she moved from the bed to the chair her purse clutched in her hands which rested on her lap.

On their way home they called in at the pharmacy and filled the prescriptions the doctor had handed to her brother along with her discharge papers. Apparently she would only have to take them regularly until after she saw her new doctor then she would only have to take them as needed before eventually being able to discontinue them altogether. She was looking forward to that day.

_~Gibbs-DiNozzo Residence, 1:25 PM~_

“Gibbs when is Tony getting here?” Abby asked as she bounced in her seat next to Kelly. Before he could formulate a reply they heard a vehicle pull into the driveway.

“Papà!” Kelly exclaimed as she ran towards the door and outside before anyone could grab her.

_~Outside~_

“Uhmmm…Tony? Why are we here?” a young dark haired woman asked of her companion.

“You’ll see sorellina” he told her as he got out of the truck and walking around to the passenger door and opening it for his guest.

“After you milady” he said with a small bow gaining a small laugh from her as she slid onto slightly unsteady legs.

“Papà! You’re home!” they heard Kelly exclaim as she ran towards them with Gibbs standing at the door shaking his head at his daughter’s antics.

“Piccolina! Look who I found.” Tony said as he picked his daughter up and spun her around giving her a kiss on the cheek before settling her back on her feet and turning her towards the young woman.

“Zia! Ti voglio bene. Mi sei mancata tanto." Kelly said running up to the young woman who knelt down to pull her into a hug,

“Anch'io ti voglio bene, nipotina." She whispered into the young girl’s ear surprising a huge smile from Kelly.

“When did you learn Italian Zia?”

“I asked your Papà to teach me some so I could greet you when I came home.” She told the young child who smiled and hugged her again before hugging her papà as well.

Gibbs, who had closed the door behind him, walked over to the small group and pulled the young dark haired woman into a friendly hug,

“It’s good to have you back Kate.” He told her.

“It’s good to be back Gibbs.” She said a smile on her face.

“C’mon Zia Kate! Let’s go inside. Zia Abby and Ziva are here! So is Zio Timmy and Nonno Ducky! They will be so shocked!” Kelly exclaimed as she began to tug on Kate’s hand. Laughing Kate followed Kelly with Gibbs and Tony on either side just incase.

Walking inside Tony called out his greetings.

“I’m back everyone! Close your eyes so I can bring in the surprise. And NO PEEKING ABBY!” he yelled the last part knowing Abby would just want to peek.

He sent Gibbs in who made sure no-one was peeking as he helped Kate to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and him, Gibbs and Kelly stood in front of her.

“Okay Everyone. Open Your Eyes” he said as one by one everyone opened their eyes and looked at the trio standing in front of the chair.

“Surprise.” He said as he stepped off to the side revealing a smiling Kate who was wriggling her fingers in lieu of a proper wave. Stunned silence followed for a moment before pandemonium broke out.

“KATE!” Abby yelled as she launched herself from the loveseat that she had been sharing with Ziva. Wrapping her arms around the slightly older woman she hugged her fiercely while trying not to cry.

“I missed you so much. I thought you were dead. Why did you lie to me?” she questioned of her best friend.

“Ssshh. I’m sorry Abbs. I kinda had to. I…well I’ll tell you later. Okay? I promise.” She said as she hugged the forensic scientist back.

Pulling away Abby nodded and stepped back to let McGee and Ducky greet her. It was a happy day for the unique family to learn that one of their members was not dead. Ziva just sat back and watched from the sidelines not wanting to intrude on this happy moment. She had planned on trying to slip out unnoticed but Abby had caught her before she could.

“..and you have to meet Ziva!” she said as she grabbed Ziva and brought her over to Kate.

“Ziva David, Kate Todd.” She introduced the two.

Ziva held out her hand for Kate who took the offered hand and shook it.

“It’s nice to meet you Ziva”

“It is nice to meet you as well Kate.” Was the somewhat awkward reply from Ziva. They stared at each other for a moment before Ziva asked Kate something that had them bonding over male co-workers and their idiocy.

“Has Tony always been so…strung high?”

“You mean high strung? Yes. I always said he was like an X-rated Peter Pan.” Kate whispered conspiratorially so Kelly didn’t overhear. Laughing the two women began to talk dragging Abby into their discussion.

Eventually Kelly interrupted by asking when they could open presents. Tony called everyone’s attention to him and told them that the presents would be given and opened now and that afterwards dinner would be served. Smiling everyone took their seats once again as Tony and Gibbs began going through the pile of presents under the tree and handing them out.

TBC…

** AN2: If anyone has any ideas as to presents that can be exchanged let me know what the present is, who from and who to. Thanks. I am in no way a doctor and the knowledge I have is mostly from TV/Movies/Personal Experience but nothing of that experience is linked to comas though head trauma does count. Though I myself am a strange and unusual case and often took my doctors by surprise so I only really have myself to look at other than my sister-in-law whose problems are more complex and too tiring to try and understand completely. She has the medical degree so I do know a few things from her schooling (which she imparted upon me due to my being their on-call babysitter at one point.)If anyone has any medical experience feel free to correct my limited knowledge. I love reviews so feel free to point out any mistakes just be nice about it please. I will send all flamers to The Bog Of Eternal Stench. Others can happily laugh along with me at those sent there though :D **

Translations(as a reminder for those who may have forgot the meanings(cause I do that a lot))

Sorellina=little sister

Fratellone=big brother

Grazie=thank you

Prego= You are welcome

Per favore=please

Ti voglio bene. Mi sei mancata tanto.= I love you. I missed you so much.

Anch'io ti voglio bene, nipotina."-I love you too, little niece

Zia=Aunt

Zio=Uncle

Piccolina=little one

Nonno-grandpa

Papà-dad


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I decided to skip the whole present giving because I can’t think of appropriate presents and my beta, who is the magic behind problems like this being solved, is still MIA. Hope this chapter answers some of those pesky questions that have no doubt been bugging y’all. Finally this chapter goes out to xXevanderXx from FFnet because she asked so nicely to see a smut scene. It’s not the best but I hope y’all enjoy the chapter.

Beta: None. Still MIA.

For those that don’t want to read the smex **+smut+** and **++smut++** denotes the two scenes.

**Chapter Fourteen**

Christmas had come and gone and New Year was approaching. Due to their rather hectic case load Tony and Gibbs had yet to actually do anything more than some very heavy petting. Abby, knowing her two favorite guys needed a break, agreed to take Kelly over New Year’s Eve. Well, she actually demanded that Kelly be allowed to stay with her for the upcoming holiday, Tony and Gibbs just had to nod and say yes.

Since Kelly was with Abby, Gibbs had planned a special night for him and Tony. It would be the first time in quite a while that they had had the house to themselves. Even Kate had gone to stay with Abby, since she still couldn’t live on her own. Gibbs had plans for this New Year’s Eve to be very special for both of them.

**+smut+**

As Tony woke up he smiled realizing that Gibbs’ arm was wrapped around his waist with his hand resting on Tony’s stomach. Tony looked over at the clock on the nightstand and groaned when he realized it was only 0630. He knew Kelly was with Abby though, which caused him to grin because now him and Gibbs would have plenty of time for a little fun. Turning around in Gibbs’ arms to face the man he grinned again as he noticed that he wasn’t the only one to recognize the time. As Gibbs leaned in and kissed him his hand began to wander. One came around to cup Tony’s erection through his sweats while the other moved to grasp the back of Tony’s neck and head so that he could deepen the kiss. Tony’s hands weren’t idle either as they roamed up and down Gibbs back underneath his t-shirt. Breaking apart and panting for breath Gibbs looked at Tony who had thrown his head back, exposing his throat as he rocked against Gibbs’ hand. Leaning in to kiss and nip at that delicious expanse of skin Gibbs began burning a trail down Tony’s throat, leaving some visible red marks in his wake. Tony’s gasping plea for more and his telling Gibbs not to stop didn’t go unnoticed either. As Gibbs moved down to worry a nipple between his teeth before pulling back and stripping his own shirt off while Tony managed to get his sweats down far enough that they only tangled around one ankle. Growling Gibbs knelt over Tony who lay panting underneath him and grasped both of their cocks and began to stroke them. Groaning as Tony thrust against him he leaned down and began to worry at the skin of Tony’s neck again. Gibbs could tell Tony was close and so took his mouth in a rough needy kiss, swallowing Tony’s cry of completion before falling over the edge himself. Collapsing to lean against his younger lover Gibbs rolled slightly so he was beside Tony, both panting to catch their breath. Sharing a few lazy kisses while they lay there.

Once they had managed to regain their senses they both got up and headed for the shower. They shared several more lazy kisses while they helped each other to wash up for the day ahead of them.

**+smut+**

Stepping out and drying off they headed for the bedroom and dressed in comfortable jeans, shirts and sweatshirts before heading downstairs and making breakfast. Once they had finished their morning meals they headed for the basement and the smaller project they were building together, Once it was finished it was to be a present for Kate. It would be a beautifully crafted desk, with a place for all of her drawing supplies; pens, pencils, inks, paper, tablets and other stuff. While she may never be able to be a field agent again she could still help in other ways. If she regained full use of her fine motor skills she could still be a very good sketch artist and she was still a very good profiler, even if some things were still a little hazy to her. Her memory had continued to improve over the course of her hospital stay and then her coming to live with them and everyone had high hopes that she would regain all of her memories or at the very least most of them.

After working on their present to Kate they headed upstairs for lunch and to relax for a bit. They continued to relax around the house as well as do menial chores, things that they didn’t normally have time to fix such as squeaky hinges or leaky faucets, It also gave them the chance to just relax with each other, They loved Kelly dearly but every once in a while they needed time for themselves too.

As Night fell they settled on the couch a bottle of beer for them both and Gibbs’ Cowboy Style Steak. As they had finished their meal they migrated from the couch to the small cocoon of blankets in front of the fire.

Laying down and listening to the broadcast they shared several deep kisses and meaningful caresses.

“Jethro…”

“Hmmm…”

“Ti amo.”

“Love you too, Tony.”

**++smut++**

They shared a deeper kiss than before and things began to heat up quickly. Gibbs hand found it’s way under Tony’s OSU sweatshirt and his t-shirt, sliding up until he encountered a nipple, already pebbled in excitement. Tony moaned as Gibbs began to gently squeeze and rub the pad of his thumb over his nipple. He broke the kiss and helped Gibbs to pull his shirts off over his head, resuming their passionate kiss. Gibbs moved down the side of Tony’s jaw, nipping and placing chaste kisses the whole way down the side of his neck until he got to his younger lover’s chest. Smirking softly he laved the nipple with his tongue before sucking on it gently, causing Tony to gasp and moan.

“Jethro…” Tony groaned as Gibbs moved his attention from one nipple to the other. He pulled Gibbs up and into a heated kiss before pulling the other man’s shirts off over his head and running his hands up the older man’s chest. He pinched both nipples at the same time and smirked at the older man’s groan. They continued to kiss and tease each other as the countdown on the TV continued.

It wasn’t long before Tony had Gibb’s pants down and off and his own pants had been tossed to the side as well. Hands grasping and groping, teasing nd touching. Their mouths joing in when not stealing the other’s breath away.

Gibbs groaned as Tony’s hand once again found it’s way to his hard cock, grasping and stroking it. He grabbed the other’s wrist and pulled him away.

“Not gonna last if you keep that up.” He said, panting.

“Maybe we should move this to the bedroom then?” Tony said, a soft smile on his lips. He knew what he wanted and he hoped that Jethro wanted the same thing,

Nodding Gibbs stood up and pulled Tony up after him, pulling him into another heated kiss before they slowly made their way to the bedroom, the TV still playing the countdown and completely forgotten.

They made it up the stairs without falling or injuring themselves, all the while still sharing heated kisses and touches. Once in their room Gibbs pushed Tony back and onto the bed, allowing the other man to scoot further up so that his head rested on the pillows there before crawling over him and pulling him into another heated kiss. They continued their unhurried exploration, building up the tension between them. Tony smirked before flipping Gibbs onto his back and slowly making his way down the older man’s body, latching onto a nipple before continuing on. He continued down the older man’s stomach, nipping lightly and the muscles there before slowly making his way down to Gibbs’ cockk. He placed a teasing kiss on the head of his lover’s cock before lightly llapping up the pre-come that had leaked out. He glanced up at Gibbs before he took the head of his cock into his mouth and began lightly sucking, moving down and bobbing his head up and down over the velvety steel shaft.

“Nnnnggg, god, Tony!” Gibbs cried out, panting as his lover continued to suck his dick, teeth lightly teasing the underside of his cock.

Tony moaned around the length in his mouth and slowly pulled away, knowing Gibbs was close.

Growling Gibbs pulled the smirking man up and into a harsh kiss, flipping them so that the Italian was under him now. Breaking the kiss he smiled down at the panting man. Tony opened his eyes and pulled Gibbs back down into another passionate kiss, their tongue twining around each other and exploring each other’s mouths. Gibbs hand reached out blindly for the nightstand and fumbled the drawer open, managing to knock the remote to the small TV that Tony had begged to have in their room off as he did so. He fumbled around inside of the drawer, managing to grab the lube before slamming the drawer shut and breaking the kiss, panting to catch his breath. The sound of the Tv turning on startled them both and they looked at each other before laughing. Gibbs leaned down and kissed Tony once again, managing to pop the lid on the lube one handed. He broke the kiss and poured some onto his fingers, trailing them down to Tony’s puckered hole. Looiong into Tony’s eyes he slowly began to circle the tight ring of muscle before gently pushing the tip of one finger in. Once Tony had given him the go ahead he continued working one finger into his lover’s body. Once had had one finger in he began thrusting it in and out until Tony’s body was easily accepting it before he repeated his actions with two then three fingers.

Once Tony was fully prepared he quickly lubed his cock and guided the head of it to the younger man’s entrance. Looking into Tony’s eyes he slowly began to push in, stopping to allow him to adjust to the intrusion before continuing. Once he was fully seated he leaned down and kissed Tony deep and passionately. Tongue exploring the Italians mouth.

“Jethro, move.” Tony gasped, eyes dilated and mouth hanging open, body flushed.

He slowly pulled out and pushed in over and over pulling out more and more until he was fully pulling out, only the head of his cock remaining inside of his lover’s body and pushing all the way back in. Soon he was pounding in and out of Tony’s body, groaning as Tony thrust his hips up to meet each thrust.

“J..Je…Jethroooo” Tony moaned as he panted, body slick with sweat.

“God, Tony. So fucking tight.”

“Jeethhroo. There, Harder! Yes, Jethro!” Tony cried out as Gibbs changed the angle of his thrusts and nailed Tony’s prostate, making starts burst behind his eyes,

Gibbs continued to thrust harder and faster into Tony’s body, panting and gasping for breath, managing to nail Tony’s prostate almost constantly now that he knew the angle he needed. Tony groaned and wrapped one leg around Gibbs’ waist, brining the other one up as far as he could so that Gibbs had even better access. Panting he wrapped his hand around Gibbs neck and pulled him down into a sloppy open mouthed kiss. The new position allowing Gibbs to go even deeper than before which caused Tony to throw his head back in ecstasy, mouth agape.

“Jethro…I;m..” Tony gasped as he felt his balls tighteneing at his impending orgasm.

“Yeah…nnnggg” Gibbs groaned, thrusting harder.

Moans, groans and cries filled the air of their bedroom as Gibbs continued to pound into Tony. Distantly he could hear the TV and the many voices counting down to midnight,

“Je..JETHRO!” Tony cried out as his muscles seized, cum pulsing out of his cock that was trapped between their bodies, his muscle clamping down on Gibbs thrusting cock as his orgasm tore through his body,

“Nnnnggg…Tony…” Gibbs groaned, managing to thrust hard a half dozen more times before his own orgasm tore through him, sending waves of heat into his lover’s body. Hips stuttering to a stop. He collapsed onto his Lover, only now realizing that the new year was officially here.

He shared a few lazy kisses with his lover as their bodies began to cool. Slowly he managed to slide off of Tony and land next to him, gasping at the same time as Tony as his softening cock slid from Tony’s body.

“Happy New Year Tony.” He said, kissing the younger man lightly on the lips.

“Mmm…Happy New Year Jethro. Ti Amo.” Tony replied, his body tired and pleasantly sated.

Gibbs just barely managed to get up and grab a washcloth to clean them up with so they didn’t end up stuck together before climbing back into bed with his lover. Shutting the TV off and plunging their bedroom into silence. He pulled Tony closer to his body, holding the man he loved in a tight embrace.

**++smut++**

The following morning they woke up to their phones ringing. Tony’s phone was Kate calling to see if theuy were awake yet, seeing as it was after 1100 and Gibbs was Fornell calling to ask Gibbs about what to do for a child with a high fever. Apparently Emily had started running a fever earlier that morning and Diane was once again unreachable and Fornell turned to the only other person he knew he could trust.

After they had finished their respective calls they got up, Tony with some stiffness and a slight soreness that had Gibbs worried until Tony told him to stop worrying, and got ready for the day. It would be a nice one hopefully.

……………………………………………………………………………

Before long their vacation had flown by and it was soon approaching time for them to get back into the grind of things. They had taken down most of their Christmas stuff and placed it back into the totes for the year. They had spent a wonderful two days in Pennsylvania visiting Tony’s Aunt and her pack as she called them before coming back to DC. Gibbs had yet to actually get around to telling his dad about Kelly so they hadn’t stopped there though Tony thought it would have been a good way to surprise the man now that he knew he was in fact alive.

The day eventually came when they went back to work though. Thankfully no cases came up that first day. The only thing that came up was a reappearance of Wanda.

……………………………………………………………………………

NCIS Director Jenny Sheppard was NOT having a good day. First SecNav was crawling up her ass again, then the constant unwelcome advances of other politicians and now there was some sort of ruckus being raised down in the bullpen by Gibbs’ Team. Gibbs. The man drove her absolutely insane. Yes, she’d had a brief fling with him in Paris but she had no intentions of going after him again. He’d rebuked her advances once and she had no intentions of trying again. She knew he saw her as nothing more than an annoyance. Lately though she had been hoping to enlist his help with an off the record search. A search for her girlfriend. The one she’d had to leave behind when she was placed into Witness Protection. At the time they had been unable to be anything more because the laws didn’t allow for Same Sex Marriage. She had given her a promise ring and hopefully she hadn’t moved on. It was in all likelihoods that she had though.

Her and Wanda had been through a lot. First Earl, then the subsequent investigation and then her witnessing that murder. That is what had taken her from Wanda in the first place. She often wished she’d never told the police that she’d witnessed it but, that was also a double edged sword because if she hadn’t she wouldn’t be where she was now.

She decided to head down to see what the commotion was since it was giving her a headache. As she walked down the stairs from her office she was rather lost in thought, not noticing the blonde who was walking back from the restrooms.

*Crash*

“Ooof.” The two women muttered softly. Jenny had managed to stop them both from going down as they literally ran into each other.

“Oh God I am SOOO sorry! I didn’t even see you…MaryAnn?!?!?” Wanda exclaimed, inevitably drawing the attention of the MCRT.

“Wanda…” She breathed, completely shocked. “Wanda what are you doing at NCIS?”

TBC…

 **AN:** So how many of you were expecting Jenny Sheppard to be MaryAnn? I did hint at this when I first introduced Wanda. I’ll reiterate it. Look at the “Goodbye Earl” video by the Dixie Chicks on Youtube. You’ll see the reason WHY I made the correlation between Jenny Sheppard and MaryAnn. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as it has been driving me batty trying to figure out HOW to introduce this particular concept. Also, finally gotten to the sex scene! Woohoo! This chapter was a pain because it was driving me abso-fucking-lutely nutters due to my mind going in fifty million different directions. I had fits writing this, partly because my muses have run off for this fic and I was only able to bring them partly back. Hopefully they’ll decide to come back soon. They ran off in part due to some of the more negative things I’ve gotten about the fic. It IS an AU fic. That and I decided to do some editing of the previous chapters. Those edits will eventually be uploaded. Hopefully it will help the smoothness of this fic cause it doesn’t always flow.

 **AN2:** On a completely different note Due to RL I’ve been going back through the posts on certain Communities on LJ and noticed wonderful pics of MH in a new (to me) Movie. Guh! Hot Damn! He’s dressed all in black in some and the song that came to mind was “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top. Of course since my dad has a band and they do a cover of this particular song (more like the Drummer, who happens to be my older brother, does) and the very last verse he adds a specific line, which has me thinking Tony would know when referring to Gibbs. Instead of “Every Girl’s crazy bout a sharp dressed man” it’s “Every girl’s crazy bout a well hung man.” Which with MH being dressed in black it just randomly popped into my head lol! Bet Tony would know huh ;)

 


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I know, I know. It’s been FOREVER since I updated this. I’m really, really sorry about that. RL Hit, the muses took a running leap into the abyss, my sister-in-law got really really sick and ended up in the hospital and I was once again commandeered to help my brother. She’s still not the best but is home, even if still on oxygen and a feeding tube. My car also went boom! And that left me with a very old very large tank of a truck. Then my adoptive pap passed away very suddenly. I just now got back into writing again and was able to get another fic updated while my muses were still around. Summer is finally here so maybe the muses will stick around instead of cavorting with Odyssey Marine hehe! I know someone had asked about Jackson Gibbs, all in due time. I’m not quite there yet.

**Chapter Fifteen**

“Wanda, what are you doing here at NCIS?” Jenny, or MaryAnn as Wanda called her, asked.

“Earl’s brother Clint showed up and attacked me a few years ago. An off duty Marine saved me, dying in the process. He told me to come to NCIS. They opened a case and Clint is still out there somewhere. I came in to talk with Gibbs and Tony, they’re the leads on the case. What are you doing here?” Wanda asked her best friend and former lover.

“I…I work here now. Director Jenny Sheppard.” She told the woman, still a tad shocked.

“Oh. Why, uh why’d you leave?” Wanda asked, flushing a bit and ducking her head.

It was then that Jenny Sheppard noticed the utter silence around them. She looked up and noticed that Gibbs and his team were all staring slack-jawed at them. She glared at the man and his team and told them to get back to work before dragging Wanda to her office to talk privately. She didn’t notice Gibbs and Tony following her and Wanda. Once in her office she sat down and motioned for Wanda to sit next to her.

“Wanda, I didn’t want to leave. I witnessed a pretty high-profile murder while I was in town. I didn’t know it at the time but my coming forward as a witness would land me in Witness Protection with a new name and no way to contact you. After awhile I stopped trying, not wanting to lead the men that had killed someone to you. I didn’t want to leave, threw a fit actually. I tried to get them to place you under with me. I’ve been attempting to rather discretely look for you since I became Director. I’d heard inklings here and there but wasn’t sure it really was you.” She told the woman sadly.

“Oh. MaryAnn. I’m sorry. I blamed you for a while, you know? I couldn’t understand why you would just up and leave or what I’d done. When Clint showed up I was so scared that he’d done to you what he did to that marine and almost did to me. I wish I’d known what happened. I was so angry for so long. Then I was just hurt. I… well I threw the promise ring out then freaked thinking about it and dug it back out of the rash. I never strayed though.”

“Wanda…I’m so sorry baby. You still have it? The promise ring I mean?”

“Yes, MaryAnn…I mean Jenny…” Wanda said, realizing that she still thought of her as MaryAnn.

“You can call me MaryAnn when it’s just us Wanda. I miss hearing you saying my name.” Jenny told her.

“Ok.” She smiled shyly at her before continuing “Yes, I still have it. It’s on my necklace. See.” She pulled her necklace out from under her shirt, showing off the promise ring that she hadn’t had the heart to place back on her own finger but hadn’t wanted to stop wearing it altogether.

“I’m glad.” Jenny said before continuing to catch up with Wanda.

Meanwhile the two Senior Agents snuck back down the stairs to the bullpen, having a lot to think about. Gibbs was shocked that his former lover had a woman and was actually under Witness Protection. He bet that it just pissed the FBI off that she was NCIS and a high-profile Director at that. He smirked to finally have some very interesting dirt on Jenny, not that it wasn’t the only thing he had on her. Tony, on the other hand, was just glad that there would be no more attempts by Jenny to get back with his man. She had been very well behaved recently, something that he was thankful for, as he wasn’t sure that he would have been able to keep his mouth shut much longer. He just hoped that now that Wanda was around Jenny would be easier to deal with.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few weeks Jenny was able to convince Wanda to move in with her so as to be better protected from Clint if he were to ever show up. It wasn’t something Jenny liked to think about considering what Clint said was true. Her and Wanda had killed Earl and they would take that secret to their graves if possible. She never regretted it though there had been times that Wanda had, usually when she would see someone that had known Earl and hadn’t believed that he had beat Wanda. Now that Wanda had agreed to move in with her Jenny had to speak to Gibbs and DiNozzo, Something she wasn’t looking forward to.

“Cynthia, have Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo come to my office ASAP, Please.” She told her secretary as she walked into her office for the day. Wanda was packing so hadn’t come in with her.

“Right Away, ma’am.” Now all she had to do was wait for the two men to arrive. She knew they would get in later then the rest of their team seeing as they took Gibbs’ daughter Kelly to School sometimes.

A few hours later and the two Agents finally appeared in her office.

“What did you need to see us for Madame Director?” DiNozzo queried, using the hated title just to get on Jenny’s nerves.

“I wanted to speak to you about Wanda’s case.” She paused to take a few breaths to calm herself. “I knew Wanda in High School. I moved away and she married Earl. Two weeks later he started abusing her. When she finally got the nerve to file for divorce she let the law take it from there. He walked right through the Restraining Order and put her into Intensive Care. As soon as I found out I flew in from Atlanta where I was going to College. We made a pact that he had to go. After I showed up Earl disappeared, he knew not to mess with me I guess. The cops showed up shortly after Wanda was released from ICU to take Earl in but he was nowhere to be found. A year later me and Wanda…” she cleared her throat before continuing, “we got together. Then I saw a murder in Town and ended up in Witness Protection. I tried getting them to bring Wanda with me but they refused as in the law’s eyes she wasn’t my spouse. Now I’ve found her again, thanks in part to you two. I just wanted to let you know that Wandawill be moving in with me so if you fel the need for extra protection you’d know where to send it.”

“Well, I guess that would be safer for Wanda. With her living with the Director of NCIS Clint might think twice about attacking her.” Tony said.

“Thank You. For understanding. Will there be extra protection for when I’m not there?”

“Yeah, Jenny. There’ll be a surveillance unit posted outside rotating in 12 hour shifts as well as a secondary unit patrolling the grounds in 8 hours shifts. Neither shift leaves until the next one shows up so that there is round the clock protection.” Gibbs told her.

“Ok. Thank you both again.” She said dismissing them. They nodded and left while she called Wanda to tell her the news.

TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Short I know. But I wanted to give y’all something while I try and entice the muses to come back. Summer has flown by and between my family and other obligations I haven’t had much time to write let alone the inspiration. My muses are currently tagging along in a ’67 Chevy Impala, lucky bastards. Hopefully this will tide everyone over and that y’all enjoyed the very short chapter.
> 
> Ja
> 
> Sinopa


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I know, I know. It’s been FOREVER since I updated this. I’m really, really sorry about that. RL Hit, the muses took a running leap into the abyss again and a bunch of other things happened all at once. Ugh. My muses just seem to HATE me. I really need someone to help me keep the muses around and to keep me moving and motivated. Hopefully I can give a good chapter for ya’ll.

** Chapter Sixteen **

Things had been going really well for the MCRT lately. Not too many hard cases, Kate continuing to recover fully and Gibbs and Tony’s relationship having become even more successful. Something was bound to happen at some point. Wanda had moved in with Jenny and Jenny had been pretty lenient until she got it in her head that there needed to be some changes to NCIS. She forced a lab assistant on Abby who hated it and made her dress like normal people which Abby also hated. Unfortunately Jenny didn’t do her homework and Chip was a bad guy and attempted to frame Tony for Murder. It hadn’t worked for several reasons, one he had a solid alibi, two they were able to figure things out before Tony was even arrested though it had still resulted in Chip ending up tied up with duct tape by Abby in her lab and Jenny completely embarrassed and shame-faced. Jenny had learned her lesson and decided not to hire another lab assistant thankfully.

Things continued to improve and then stayed steady until a very fateful case that would send all kinds of things careening into orbit and call into question so much and cause a lot of angst and heartbreak. On occasion Jenny still tried to get Tony to do the secret op but not as constantly as she had before Wanda had shown up.

Everything had been going fine until that damn explosion. Seeing the flames and hearing the loud boom had caused Tony’s heart to stop before adrenalin kicked in and had him running onto the ship to make sure Gibbs hadn’t been caught up in the explosion. He had. He’d wanted to ride with Gibbs to the hospital but McGee and Ziva had been the ones to tell him to go get Kelly first then go to Bethesda. So that’s just what he did.

“Toretto.” Dom answered the phone.

“Dom…Gibbs…Gibbs was in an explosion. I’m on my way to get Kelly. I don’t want her to see her dad like this but I can’t hide this from her. I don’t want to be alone either. Can…Can you guys follow me to Bethesda?” Tony queried, tears in his eyes and voice.

“Yeah, of course. How bout we just meet you at Bethesda?”

“Ok.” Tony said before hanging up and heading towards Bethesda.

Once there Tony greeted Dom and Brian before pulling Kelly into a tight hug.

“Papà? What’s wrong? Where’s Daddy?” Kelly asked causing Tony to hug her a little tighter.

“He’s been hurt real bad piccina. We’re gonna see him soon ok?”

“Ok Papà.” Kelly sniffed.

“Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. I’m here to see Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs; he was just brought in by ambulance.” Tony said to the woman behind the desk at the nurses’ station.

The woman looked at him and gave him and his badge a scrutinizing look before pointing him to the entrance. She’d already been bitched out by one person and her job threatened she didn’t want to be threatened again.

When Tony and Kelly showed up Abby and Jenny were already there. He wasn’t happy that Jenny was there but he understood to a point. She still cared for Jethro just not the same way that Tony did. He knew it would be a long few days. Gibbs was hooked up to all kinds of machines and had a tube down his throat. The attending came out and asked if Gibbs had been a marine.

“Yes. Panama and Desert Storm.” Tony answered before Jenny could.

“I thought I recognized him. I treated him before for similar issues. No-one expected him to make it before but he did.” He told them.

“Yeah, he’s a fighter. Ain’t that right Kelly?” Tony queried of their daughter.

“Yep. Daddy’s a fighter. He’ll wake up. I just hope it’s not as long as Zia Kate’s was.” She said nodding.

“And who are you to Agent Gibbs?” the doctor questioned.

“Special Agent Tony DiNozzo and this is Kelly Gibbs-DiNozzo. Kelly is Jethro’s daughter biologically and mine by adoption  through an odd series of Unfortunate events.” Tony told the man who nodded and said that they could stay even past visiting hours. Tony thanked the man before taking Kelly in and sitting down at Gibbs’ bedside, Kelly on his lap despite the fact she was 9 almost 10 years old. Now all they had to do was wait.

Thankfully they wouldn’t have to wait too long. Gibbs woke up gasping for air and fighting with the tube down his throat. Tony immediately yelled for assistance. Once they had managed to remove the tube from Gibbs’ throat and get him calmed down the doctors and nurses left.

“Gibbs?” Tony queried softly, Kelly next to him.

“Daddy? You ok?” Kelly asked after Tony didn’t get a response.

“Yeah…I’m ok…Kelly” Gibbs said a small smile on his face before a frown crossed it.

“What year is it?”

Tony’s face paled before he responded “2005.”

“Oh. That explains things…” Gibbs trailed off as things began crossing his mind. Memories of him and Kelly laughing and having fun. Of him kissing the man next to Kelly. Of making love to this man. No not just any man, Tony. Gibbs’ lover and Kelly’s Papà.

“Tony. C’mere.” Gibbs said, motioning the younger Italian over before pulling him into a deep kiss. “Sorry for scaring you. Things are a bit scrambled but I’ll be ok.” Gibbs told him once they broke the kiss.

Tony smiled in relief. He’d been worried Gibbs wouldn’t remember them. Not just Kelly and Tony but what Gibbs and Tony were to each other. Tony was glad he remembered at least that much. Unfortunately he also had to ask Gibbs what he could remember of the explosion, which as it turned out wasn’t much. It wouldn’t be until later that Gibbs would remember just in time for him to get out of the hospital AMA and have everything he’d ever believed in screwed up. They had killed innocents. His own damn government. That pissed him off in a major way. He felt he couldn’t trust his own government right now plus his brain was still completely scrambled and so he had given the reigns to Tony to take over the team. Despite that Tony had told his team and the director he was taking his accumulated vacation days for a good long vacation but had first made sure to find places for his team members until he came back and took the reins until Gibbs was ready to come back to work. Gibbs’ memory was improving but there were still large gaps that shouldn’t be there. One of the things he did remember was that he had a bone to pick with one Mike Franks, who had been called in once Gibbs’ memory loss had been discovered. So Tony, Kelly and Gibbs all headed off to Mexico to visit Mike Franks and possibly hide his body, depending on what he had to say for himself.

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: I know I know, really really short. I;m so sorry about that. I haven’t forgotten about this or any of my fics. I’ve been trying to entice my muses back but they’re having too much fun cavorting with two hot men in a ’67 Chevy Impala named Baby and with the BAU. Plus the plunnies keep nipping my ankles begging me to delve into the supernatural ;) with them. So I had to do this with one muse whose attention span is really realy short and kept drifting. But things are finally beginning to move along. I know someone asked why my writing styles had changed and mention it was a bit disconcerting. That is in part due to the fact that I already had a certain amount of this fic already outlined in detail but afterwards the outline kinda tapered off. I just can’t find a good place to end this fic. I want to cover at least up to the 9th Season Opener before ending it but I’m not sure I’ll do so hotly. Another reason is because I’m growing as an Author and my writing styles are changing constantly. I’ve been trying to find one that suits me and fits and flows easily for me. It’s not easy. Hopefully the next update doesn’t take as long to come out. I want to finish at least ONE of my fics before releasing another one but I’m not so sure that’ll work. Damned Plunnies. Anyways R&R. ConCrit is always welcome but any and all flamers will be shipped off to Crowley or shoved in the cage with Uncle Luci HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!  
> Sinopa Ariianna


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